Sweetcorn, Jalapeno & Red Pepper Chowder

 This recipe is originally from a Waitrose magazine and I am so glad that I read a copy belonging to a  friend or I would never have discovered this delicious chowder.  It is just like eating a rainbow and I feel invigorated just looking at the colours:

This soup is my all time favourite and I am a great lover of soups. For me it ticks all the boxes as it is full of healthy veg and has a definite kick to it. Perfect for cold winter days but just as good as a light summer snack. If you don't like things too spicy, just reduce the amount of jalapenos. As I've got used to this recipe over the years I have adjusted things a little to suit me on the day that I'm making it. If I haven't got a red pepper I add whatever colour I do have and sometimes even mix it up a bit with a selection of colours. I promised a friend that I would give her this recipe after she tried the soup; and put myself under pressure to make it again in order to take photos. This time I even mixed up the colour of onions. My personal rule is always to follow a recipe completely the first time and then do what you like next time and see what happens.

This recipe supposedly serves 6 but it very much depends how big a portion you want .. and I love soup!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 small red pepper, deseeded and finely diced
• 20g jalapeno peppers, drained and finely chopped
• 2 sticks celery, diced
• 400g Maris Piper potatoes (I use whatever I have), peeled and diced into 1cm cubes (I don't peel mine unless the skins look particularly unsavoury)
• 500g pack frozen sweetcorn (I use a 400g tin as I don't have freezer space to keep frozen)
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• 1 tsp sea salt (I only add a small amount as I find shop bought stock can be quite salty)
• 500ml milk
• 2 salad onions, ,sliced 3mm thick

Method:

1. Warm the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, pepper, jalapeno and celery and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until the onion becomes translucent and tender. Add the potatoes, half the sweetcorn and the stock. Bring to the boil, then cook, uncovered for about 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Meanwhile defrost the frozen sweetcorn if using.

2.  Put the defrosted corn in a blender with the salt and milk, then blend until smooth. Add roughly 500ml of the soup to the blender and whizz again until roughly blended.

3. Pour the mixture back into the pan of soup, bring to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls, then garnish with the salad onions and some freshly ground black pepper.

If you want to make it more of a meal or just fancy some fish add some pieces of fish at step three and cook until fish is cooked through/opaque. 

I sometimes steam a fillet of smoked haddock separately and just break it up into the soup in the final few minutes. But you can add a mix of assorted fish/seafood.