Panera Bread was founded by Ken and Linda Rosenthal in 1987, outside of St. Louis. It was originally called The St. Louis Bread Company but the name was changed to Panera Bread when the Au Bon Pain Co. purchased the company several years later. It now operates nearly 2,000 stores.
Panera Bread is well-known for its sandwiches, salads and, of course, bread! In fact, the word “Panera” can be translated to Bread Basket. But Panera is also known for its delicious and satisfying soups. Their popular stand-by’s like, Broccoli & Cheddar and Chicken Noodle never disappoint. But some of their soups, like the Summer Corn Chowder, are seasonal and can’t be found on their menu year-round. But have no fear, I have the recipe here! And you won’t have to spend $8 a cup either.
This combination of fresh sweet corn, redskin potatoes, poblano peppers and onion is sure to please. The soup is a chowder, so it has heavy cream. If you would like to make the chowder vegan, however, feel free to use coconut milk. In fact, I think the sweetness of the coconut milk combined with the sweetness of the corn would be absolutely delicious.
I recommend using a vegetable peeler to shave the corn kernels from the cob. This produces the most amount of corn milk that will lend to the creamy-ness of the soup. And I recommend using a box grater for the potato. The box grater will bring out the extra starch from the potato, adding to the thickness of the soup. Just make sure to peel the corn and grate the potato over a wide bowl to catch the corn milk and starch. While you have the box grater out, grate the onion too. Give the grated onion and potato a rough chop after grating.
Ingredients
- 4 ears of fresh corn
- 3 medium redskin potatoes
- 1 cup sweet, yellow onion
- ½ cup poblano pepper, diced
- 3 TBL cilantro, chopped
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 10 oz. Pico de Gallo
- 4 cups heavy cream
- ½ lime, juiced
- 2 TBL unsalted butter
- 4 TBL rice cooking wine (not rice vinegar)
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. sugar
- ½ tsp. turmeric (for color)
Instructions
Using a vegetable peeler, peel the kernels from the cob retaining all the starchy liquid from the corn.
Using the large grate of a box grater, grate the potatoes leaving the skin on. Retain the starchy liquid from the potatoes. Once all potatoes are grated, give the grated potatoes a rough chop.
Using the same box grater, grate the yellow onion. Once all onions are grated, give the grated onion a rough chop.
In a large stock pot, on a medium high heat, melt the butter. Sweat the onions and poblano down in the butter. Add the rice wine and allow to cook off to virtually dry. Add the vegetable broth, Pico de Gallo, potatoes, corn, heavy cream, garlic powder, salt, sugar, turmeric, lime juice and cilantro. Stir thoroughly, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 25-30 minutes. The corn and potato starch will thicken the soup as it simmers.
Serve with Panera’s Mac and Cheese and Panera’s Napa Almond Chicken Salad and Enjoy!
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