Rachael Ray's Harvest Cream Corn "choup"

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 -5 ears corn (or 1 box frozen corn)
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1 lb small potato, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 -6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley, a couple of generous handfuls
• 2 -3 dashes hot sauce, to taste
• oyster crackers or cheddar cheese popcorn, to pass at table

Recipe

• 1 heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat with extra-virgin olive oil.
• 2 add bacon to hot oil and cook until crisp at edges.
• 3 add onions and corn, zucchini and potatoes and bell pepper as you get them chopped.
• 4 also add to the soup pot the bay leaf, thyme sprigs, paprika, and salt and pepper, to taste.
• 5 cook for about 7 to 8 minutes to begin to soften the vegetables.
• 6 sprinkle flour into the pot, stir and cook 1 minute.
• 7 stir in the stock and let it come up to a bubble and thicken up a bit.
• 8 then stir in cream, parsley and hot sauce, to taste, and simmer 5 minutes.
• 9 season the soup with salt and pepper and serve with crackers or popcorn to float on top.