Corn chowder is one of the ultimate comfort foods – I love it and it's much easier than you think to make. You can adapt chowders and add all sorts of things from crab meat to smoked fish – the idea is really to be as hearty as possible.

Corn chowder
Nutritional Information - Amount per serving:
- Calories 268kcal
- Carbs 34.4g
- Sugar 11.1g
- Fat 9.0g
- Saturates 2.8g
- Protein 10.5g
Method
Pull the leaves from the celery stalks and set them aside. Chop your celery and onion. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the celery (not the leaves), onion, and thyme. Stir until the vegetables start to brown.
Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir for a few more minutes. Pour in the milk, add the potato and bring to a boil, stirring the whole time so the soup doesn't stick to the pot. Cook until the potatoes are tender, but not mushy – this will take around 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop the celery leaves, trim the ends off the spring onions and slice them thinly. When the potatoes are tender, stir in the corn, spring onion and celery leaves. Bring the soup back to the boil, then serve.
This is delicious with a crusty brown roll or a Parmesan crisp.
Jamie's top tips
Frozen corn is fantastic and it's always a useful ingredient to have in the freezer – it can be used in soups, vegetable dishes, salsas and salads.
If you wanted to make this more of a main meal you could always add some fresh or smoked fish or maybe even a handful of shellfish. Add them at the same time as you add the corn and make sure they are cooked through before you serve.
Chives and parsley are great in this soup but you can also finish it with spring onion tops or even crumbled crackers.
Whenever you're simmering a thick soup or stew, be sure to reach into the corners when you stir so no nasty bits get stuck and burn.
If it's summer, buy some fresh corn and cut the kernels off the stalk—see if you can taste the difference.
BUYING SUSTAINABLY SOURCED FISH
Buying sustainably sourced fish means buying fish that has been caught without endangering the levels of fish stocks and with the protection of the environment in mind. Wild fish caught in areas where stocks are plentiful are sustainably sourced, as are farmed fish that are reared on farms proven to cause no harm to surrounding seas and shores.
When buying either wild or farmed fish, ask whether it is sustainably sourced. If you're unable to obtain this information, don't be afraid to shop elsewhere – only by shopping sustainably can we be sure that the fantastic selection of fish we enjoy today will be around for future generations.
For further information about sustainably sourced fish, please refer to the useful links below:
Marine Stewardship Council
http://www.msc.org/
Fish Online
http://www.fishonline.org
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