Potato, Corn, and Ham Soup
My Great Grandmother, Arizona Henry, would use potatoes from the root cellar to make different kinds of potato soups. My favorite was the one she made with corn and ham. We spent many hot summer days shucking and cutting corn off the cob, putting it in quart jars, and canning using the water bath method. I remember an old farmer would come to our house to pick up all the corn shucking and cobs for his horses. My sister Lisa and I would remind the old farmer about those worms we found in the corn. We didn’t want the horses to eat those worms and get sick. The old farmer laughed while telling us those worms were the best part of the corn, which caused a gag response from Lisa and me. I don’t can corn anymore, but I work up a few bushels of corn for the freezer every fall and save the shuckings and cobs for the deer.
This soup contains vitamins A, C, B6, potassium, and folate with 4 grams of fiber. Leaving the skins on the potatoes will provide you with more fiber and nutrition. Both potatoes and corn are high in carbohydrates, so they should be eaten in moderation.
Potato, Corn, and Ham Soup
2 cups cooked, diced ham
6 tbsp. butter
1 large onion diced
2 diced celery stalks
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tsp. minced garlic
3 chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in 2 cups of hot water
5 medium diced red potatoes cooked
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2 cups half and half
- In a soup pot, melt 2 tbsp. butter over medium heat to sauté the onion and celery until tender.
- Add chicken broth, cooked potatoes, ham, corn, garlic, salt, Pepper, and red pepper flakes to the soup pot.
- Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat.
- In a saucepan, melt the remaining 4 tbsp. butter over medium heat. Add flour, milk, and half and half cook mixture, stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil while whisking constantly until thick.
- Remove from heat, and stir into soup mixture.
- Simmer the soup for 15 minutes.
Stacy Schultz is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, a former Morgan County Commissioner and is the author of “It’s Stacy’s Grandma ‘Zona’s recipes.” She has been in healthcare for 35 years at War Memorial Hospital.
