Smoked Haddock Chowder

So, it's the new year and here is a new blog post.  And it's a special one.  This soup recipe makes 100 soups on the blog! Wow.  When I started doing this blog, mainly as a way to keep occupied and to inspire me to cook new and interesting things, I never thought I'd make it this far.  In the 3 years I've been doing this, I have found by cooking becoming increasingly more adventurous and that I've also gotten a lot more passionate about what I eat.

And the soups - who would have thought that there even were more than a hundred types of soup in the world?  And it seems that I've just scratching the surface - not just in terms of 'Ooh, what veg do I have in the cupboard?  Let's jam them into a soup...' which is a perfectly acceptable way of coming up with recipes, but also in terms of national dishes, soups particular to countries, cuisines and regions.  So many wonderful tastes and recipes yet to come.

So thanks to you, my lovely readers - some of whom I have talked to on twitter (and if I haven't, why not say hello - I'm @souptuesday) for reading this blog, and hopefully enjoying the soups I've made so far, and put up with my occasional ramblings and bad jokes.

As well as more soups this year, you can look forward to some more posts about what else I'm eating (after getting more than my own bodyweight in cookbooks for Christmas, I'm itching to try out some fancy-pants new dishes) and also the World Cup Food Challenge - much like the Olympic Food Challenge, where I will be cooking selected dishes from some of the countries taking part in that whole football thing (and showing off my shocking lack of knowledge about the beautiful game)  If you want to know more about it, you can read more (and find out which other food blogs are taking part) by clicking here

And without further ado, the 100th soup recipe - suggested by Mrs Soup, without whom, this blog wouldn't exist...

Ingredients
300g Smoked Haddock
450g Potatoes
150g Sweetcorn
1 Large Onion
2 Leeks
75g Smoked Bacon
30g Butter
1 Bay Leaf
1tsp Fresh Thyme
700ml Water
500ml Milk
150ml Single Cream
3 Hard Boiled Eggs

Method
1. In a large pan (I used a frying pan) gently heat the milk and then put the haddock in, simmering over a low heat for 5 minutes, until the fish it poached.  Take the pan off the heat, and using a slotted spoon, remove the haddock, putting it into a bowl for later, flaking it with a fork.  Also keep the poaching milk for later too!

2. Cut the bacon into small pieces.  Heat the butter in your soup pan and gently fry the bacon

3. Finely chop the onion and leeks.  Add them to the pan and then sweat the vegetables until they are soft

4.  Peel and cube the potatoes, then add these to the pan, cooking for a further few minutes.

5.  Add the water, milk, sweetcorn, thyme and bay leaf.  Bring the soup to the boil and then simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and starting to break up.

6.  Using a potato masher, break up the potatoes a little more, then add the haddock back into the pan, along with the single cream and reheat gently.  Test seasoning and adjust to your preference.

7 Serve with crusty bread and sliced boiled eggs on top of each bowl.  Enjoy!

Sweetcorn Chowder

Sometimes making soup is about having the freshest ingredients, in season and still covered in the soil they were grown.  And sometimes it's about making the most of whatever old stuff you have lying around, as quickly as possible but still making sure to tastes amazing.

A lot of recipes that claim to be 'cupboard soups' quite plainly aren't - one I found the other day recommended throwing in a left over ham hock.  I ask you, who in the world has a ham hock that they just found lying round at the back of the fridge?  Maybe the Queen does (and if you're reading - hope you are enjoying the soups your maj) but the rest of us probably not. 

But I'm pretty sure that you could throw together this tasty little number without too much trouble - and even if you don't have a leek, courgette would do, and you could at a push leave out the cheese (or scrape the mould off that bit that is hiding in a tupperware at the back of the fridge - it's still good...)

One other thing - is it pronounced 'Shau-dare' or 'Chow-dah"  (Yes, just like that episode of The Simpsons - I was giggling slightly insanely whilst making the soup just thinking about that..)

Ingredients
200g Frozen Sweetcorn
1 Large Onion
1 Leek
2 Stalks Celery
1 Large Potato
150g Mature Cheddar Cheese
3 Bay Leaves
1tsp Fresh Thyme
600ml Vegetable Stock
300ml Milk

Method
1.  Peel the potato and cut into small cubes, finely chop the onion, leek and celery. 

2.  Heat some butter in your soup pan and then cook the vegetables over a low heat until they start to soften.

3.  While the vegetables are cooking, thaw your sweetcorn in boiling water then drain and use a potato masher to break up the kernels a bit.

4.  Add the stock, milk, bay leaves and thyme to the soup pan and then put the sweetcorn in.  Bring to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.

5.  Check and adjust the seasoning to taste - lots of black pepper works very well.  Grate the cheese and stir this in just before serving.  Enjoy!