Foodstuff: Soup’s on!

A personal dream of mine recently came true when I was invited to be the judge of a food contest, specifically as the tiebreaker in this year’s Soupsköl competition. I sat and sampled alongside deserving Wintersköl royalty Erlinda Morehead and Terry Trish as we received entries from 11 restaurants in all: Caribou Club, Meat & Cheese Restaurant and Farm Shop, Mi Chola, Rock Island Oyster Bar & Grill, Silverpeak Grill, Sodexo at Colorado Mountain College, Stranahan’s Whiskey Lodge, sway, Taco Pina, The Boat Tow, and West End Social.

Rock Island took first place with their loaded chowder, chock full of clams and topped with crispy bacon, sway came in second featuring their uber-flavorful tom kha gai, and third place went to West End Social with their bright and vibrant curry ginger carrot coconut. I, naturally, enjoyed every bite. Our votes were combined with the crowd’s picks, though all entries should be proud of what they put forth, from Taco Pina’s exciting birria ramen, comforting classics like CMC’s posole and Silverpeak’s tortilla soup and an innovative vegan mushroom chowder from Stranahan’s.

The whole experience got me inspired to soup it up in my own kitchen, so I pulled out a tried-and-true recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Every Day is Saturday by Sarah Copeland, my fellow Mizzou Journalism School graduate.

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POTATO-CORN CHOWDER WITH BASIL-POBLANO GARLIC RELISH

Serves 4-6

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FOR THE SOUP

2 slices thick-cut bacon

1 large yellow onion, diced

4 ears corn on the cob*

1t fine sea salt, plus more to taste

6C chicken broth or water

1lb. small potatoes, quartered or halved (about three cups)

FOR THE RELISH

2 large poblano peppers, seeds removed, finely diced

1/4 red onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1C fresh basil leaves, chopped

1T extra virgin olive oil

TO FINISH

Freshly ground black pepper

1C half-and-half

Finely grated parmesan cheese

Cook bacon in a large pot over medium heat until brown and starting to crisp, about 6-10 minutes. Add yellow onion and cook, stirring, until soft and golden, 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the corn off the cob with a sharp knife and reserve the cobs. Add corn kernels, salt, and broth to the pot. Use the back of your knife to scrape the cobs, “milking” the corn and leftover kernels into the pot. Add cobs and potatoes to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.**

While the soup simmers, assemble the relish. In a small bowl, combine peppers, red onion, garlic and basil. Toss gently with a spoon. Just before serving, add the oil and toss again to make a loose relish.

Taste your soup and add salt or black pepper as needed. Remove and discard corn cobs. Add half-and-half gradually until desired thickness. Mash about half the potatoes and corn with a potato masher or immersion blender and keep warm over low heat.

Ladle soup into bowls. Top with relish and parmesan cheese.

COOK’S NOTES

*You can omit the corn if it’s not in season (like, now), but I found some I liked at the grocery store.

**I cooked this much longer, probably 35-40 minutes; I like a thick soup.

From the Icebreaker Bash to the Wintersköl Beer Festival to the Apple Strudel Downhill, and the classic screening of “Aspen Extreme,” now at the Aspen Film Isis Theatre, the updates to this longstanding local tradition were fun and full of flavor. I can’t wait until next year, but, until then, I have homemade soup on standby to keep me warm.

Katherine Roberts is a mid-Valley based writer and marketing professional who wishes everyone a delicious 2025. She can be reached via her marketing and communications firm, Carington Creative, at katherine@caringtoncreative.com