When a soup is called a chowder, it is usually thick and chunky. Chowders may contain fish or shellfish or potato or cream or corn or tomatoes. One ingredient, though, is essential for making a chowder: bacon or cured pork. Since different styles of chowders can be made, it is a great soup for showcasing summer produce. Corn, tomatoes, and potatoes are all in season now. Plus, chowders are a fresh and satisfying one-pot dinner that can utilize leftover fish or pork.

Classic New England clam chowder is made with potatoes and cream. New Englanders derisively call any clam chowder without potatoes and cream “Manhattan” — the most negative word they can think of! (The rivalry between New England and New York is not limited to baseball.)

Call any soup a chowder and the soup instantly becomes more substantial and hearty. Soup has always been my most favorite food to cook and eat, because they are so deeply flavorful. Every cook has a different chowder recipe!

Don’t miss these upcoming cooking classes on how to make chowder:

“Rustic Charm” with Adam Lambay of Chaumette Winery on September 20

“Sauce Sense” with Bernard Pilon of Norwood Country Club on September 25

“Cracker, Jack” with Jack MacMurray of Sage on October 20

“Recipe Redux: Favorite Soups” with Dawn Meyer on November 3

“Thyme of Passion” with Barb Nack on December 5

“Joyeuse Fete” with Jean-Pierre Auge on December 18

Tomato-Corn Chowder with Fish and Sausage

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 sausage link, sliced or 2 slices of bacon, diced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 4 ears of corn, shucked
• 4 tomatoes, peeled and seeded
• 1/4 cup heavy cream, optional
• 1 pound fish fillet, skinned and cut into 1-inch pieces (I used leftover grilled lake trout)
• fresh basil leaves, sliced crosswise, for garnish

In a soup pot, saute the onion, garlic, and sausage for about 5-10 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and the sausage is brown. If necessary, add olive oil or butter is the pan is too dry. Season with salt and pepper. Add the stock. Use a corn creamer to remove the cream of the corn and add the creamed corn to the soup. Using a blender, puree the tomato and add it to the soup. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding hot pepper if desired. If a creamier chowder is desired, add heavy cream. Add the fish and cook just until heated (do not overcook the fish or it will flake apart). Garnish with basil.