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Grilled Corn Chicken Avocado Chowder

Shanna
A rich, creamy chowder made with grilled corn, chicken and avocado. Garnished with homemade tortilla strips, this chowder is excellent served hot or cold.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings 8 -10 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 4- whole cobs of corn silks removed, husks still on
  • 1.5-2 pounds chicken breast or thighs grilled and shredded ( about 3-4 cups)
  • Oil salt and pepper for the chicken
  • 4 large avocados cut in half, pits removed, lightly brushed with oil ( around 4 cups mashed)
  • 4 garlic cloves unpeeled
  • 1-2 Jalapeño or serrano peppers more for spicier chowder
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 medium white onion diced (6 ounces)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1-2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste
  • Juice and zest of 2 medium limes 2-3 teaspoon zest, 3-4 tablespoon juice
  • 1 ½ cups full fat canned coconut milk 13.5 ounce can of coconut milk
  • 4 cups chicken broth divided (1000ml)

For Garnish:

  • 6-8 corn tortillas cut into thin strips
  • high heat oil such as peanut coconut or avocado
  • Cotija Cheese crumbled
  • Cilantro chopped
  • Jalapeno sliced
  • 1-2 limes sliced into wedges
  • Chunks of corn from one of the grilled corn cobs
  • hot sauce

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your grill to medium high. Peel back the husks on the corn and remove the silks, wrap back in the husks. Season the chicken with a little oil, salt and pepper. Place the corn on one side of the grill and the chicken on the other. Char the corn, turning often and grill the chicken to internal temp of 165 Deg. F, flipping 2-3 times while grilling. Around 20 minutes of grilling. Transfer the chicken and corn to a platter to rest while you lightly grill the avocados cut side down and char the chiles. 2-3 minutes for the avocados, 4-5 minutes for the chiles. Let everything cool long enough to handle.
  • Heat a cast iron skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat and place the whole garlic cloves on the pan and heat until starting to brown and soften. Turn the garlic once in a while to get all sides. This takes about 5 minutes. This can be done while the chicken and corn are resting. If you have a grill pan that can go on your grill you can char the garlic there.
  • Heat a tablespoon of high heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat and the diced onion. Cook until starting to caramelize, about 7-8 minutes. This could be done while the corn and chicken are grilling to save time, just don't forget to check on the onions and stir once in a while. Or do this step while they are resting, whatever works best for you and your timing and space. Transfer the onions to a blender and leave the dutch oven or pot on low heat.
  • Once the chicken and corn are cool enough to handle, shred the chicken using two forks. Cut the corn off the cobs, cutting it in larger chunks off of one of the cops for garnish. Break the rest up into smaller pieces and place in a bowl.
  • Peel the garlic and chile peppers, remove the stems and seeds from the chiles and place both in the blender with the sautéed onions. Scoop out the flesh of the avocado and add to the blender, add in the cumin, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, lime zest and juice, coconut milk, 2 cups of the chicken broth. Blend until very smooth.
  • Pour the avocado puree into the Dutch oven and raise the heat to medium-high, add the remaining 2 cups of chicken broth, taste and season with the salt and pepper. Add in the corn and the shredded chicken and stir well. Bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low and cover.
  • Heat oven to 400 deg F. Cut the corn tortillas into thin strips. Place on a baking sheet and toss with high heat oil, or spray with oil. . Bake until crispy, stirring often. About 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the strips on a paper towel, season with salt. You can also fry these in a pan on your stove top if you like. Sometimes I will fry the strips in a cast iron pan in a half an inch or so of oil, stirring occasionally until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined sheet and sprinkle with salt. I find frying in a pan takes a little longer if making a lot of tortilla strips.
  • When ready to serve, ladle the chowder into bowls and garnish with crumbled cotija cheese, jalapeno or serrano chile slices, cilantro, grilled corn pieces and the tortilla strips. Serve hot.
  • This chowder keeps well in the refrigerator or freezer. Can also be served cold.

Notes

To make this "Paleo" omit the corn and tortillas.
You can use either light or full fat coconut milk. I prefer full fat.
If you want more heat add another jalapeno or serrano and leave the seeds in
This soup is great served hot or cold