Lobster-Less Corn Chowder

• 4 ears fresh corn, shucked
• 4 cups of water
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 leek (white and green parts), cleaned and thinly sliced
• 1 /4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Yukon Gold potato, cleaned and cut into bite-size cubes
• 3/4 pound of halibut, cut into chunks (or monkfish or crayfish with meat removed)
• 2-3 cups half-and-half (or coconut milk, but warning, it will be very sweet)
• 1 tablespoon of sweet, smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon of ground white pepper
• 1/4 cup of parsley, roughly torn or chopped
• A sprinkling of red chili pepper flakes

1. 1. Remove the corn from the cob by standing each ear up in a bowl and use a knife to scrape off the kernels.
2. 2. Put the corncobs and water (and cleaned crayfish shells if you are using them) in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat (or use the low sodium corn cob broth from yesterday's post).
3. 3. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the water bubbles gently, cover, and cook, checking occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Leave the cobs (and shells) in the pot until you are ready to make the soup, then discard them and save the corncob broth.
4. 4. While your broth is boiling, put the butter in a large, deep stock pot over medium-high heat. Slowly cook the butter until it has browned (it will have a dark caramel color and will smell nutty) and add the leeks. Cook while stirring occasionally, until soft, about 1 minute.
5. 5. Lower the heat to medium and stir in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly with a whisk or a wooden spoon, until the mixture starts to turn golden and the flour no longer smells raw, just a couple of minutes.
6. 6. Add three cups of corncob broth to the pot and raise the heat to medium-high. Stir or whisk constantly until the flour is dissolved and the soup starts to thicken, about 2 minutes.
7. 7. Add the potato cubes to the pot and allow them to cook and soften.
8. 8. In another bowl or blender, puree half of your corn kernels with the last cup of the corncob broth.
9. 9. Stir in the corn puree and corn kernels and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat so that the soup simmers gently.
10. 10. Add the half-and-half (or coconut milk), the white pepper, the sweet, smoked paprika, and the halibut. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the corn is tender and the soup has thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.
11. 11. To plate, ladle soup into large bistro bowls (that you can stick your face into) and sprinkle with parsley and red chili pepper flakes. Enjoy.

corn, water, butter, flour, potato, crayfish, coconut milk, sweet, ground white pepper, parsley, sprinkling of red chili pepper flakes

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/lobster-less-corn-chowder-50099162 (may not work)