Corn Chowder main-course soup style!

I think that sweetcorn (or corn-on-the-cob) has to be right up there on my list of favourite vegetables.  I love it in all its forms, even as polenta.  I used to make cornbread, up until it dawned on me how fattening it was, but a home-made chilli with cornbread was one of life's little pleasures for a while there.

One of our regular family favourite soups is the Smoked Haddock Chowder, which contains sweetcorn.  From there, it was a short step to finding a great recipe for corn chowder.  I found just the thing, by accident, on www.fresh365online.com.  The recipe contained potatoes, sour cream and most interestingly, a cupful of cheddar cheese.  I liked the idea of how that sounded as a recipe, but felt in order to turn it into a main course soup, it needed the addition of some meat - smoked bacon, to be specific.  I felt the bacon would "butch" up the soup, plus add a lovely smokey flavour.

Well, I wasn't wrong as although the sour cream and cheese help provide depth, the bacon just makes all the difference to how hearty the soup feels.

Do be careful though, not to use corn at the end of the season.  I have had corn cobs that have absolutely refused to cook so, if you decide to make this recipe out of corn season, my advice is to go for frozen corn.  It takes a twinkling to cook and the flavour really isn't that different.

CORN CHOWDER  (feeds 4)

Ingredients :

2 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 pack (250g) streaky bacon, diced small
1 garlic clove, grated
1 onion, chopped
half a tsp of cayenne pepper
2 medium potatoes, diced small
500ml vegetable stock
5 cobs (kernels removed) of fresh corn or 800g of frozen corn
150g sour cream
a large handful of cheddar cheese, grated
black pepper to taste
2 spring onions, chopped fine for garnish
red chilli infused oil, for garnish.

Method :

In a large saucepan and over a moderate heat, add the oil and once hot add the onions and garlic.  Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the onions have softened but not gained any colour.

Add the chopped bacon and fry until the bacon is opaque and some of the fat has rendered.

Stir in the cayenne and potatoes and cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring often.

Add the vegetable stock and taste for seasoning.  Add salt if necessary - I didn't need to, as the bacon and stock meant the mix was quite salty enough.  Add the corn and bring to a lively simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the corn is tender.

Stir in the sour cream and cheddar cheese and cook for another few minutes, to ensure it has all melted and been combined.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, adding some black pepper if you like.

Serve in warmed bowls with a sprinkle of spring onions and a swoosh or two of chilli oil over the top.

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