Spring Sweetcorn Soup

Yesterday was the first day of spring. Now for once the weather is actually acting like spring. It is bright, clear and fresh and the sun is actually warm! I got up at 6.30 this morning and looked out at the sky. Clear blue, not a cloud in sight, just the jet trails in the sky from the first flights taking off. Absolutely beautiful to see their crisscrossed trails tinted with pink from the rising sun across a baby blue sky. It just isn’t quite warm enough though to sit out in the garden.

There are plans for this weekend. We are going to spend the day in the garden and do all the weeding and trimming of dead buds and so on, but there was a mention of a barbeque too. Ha! I think that was a very premature idea. But the idea of chargrilled meats and veg just sounds so lovely and says ‘Welcome to spring’. I love barbequed corn on the cob. Warm, buttery and crunchy. I came up with a back up plan this week. A chunky sweetcorn soup. This soup has a hint of warmth from the chilli but is rich and buttery and tastes oh so like corn on the cob. I leave it slightly chunky to give the sense of eating corn. It is just so delicious!

CHUNKY SWEETCORN SOUP

Obviously you can make the soup really smooth if you prefer. But I like the flecks of red from the chilli and the odd whole corn kernel in it. Actually feels like you are eating something, rather than just drinking soup. Delicious served with a home-made brown bread (my mother kindly made us a loaf of her brown soda bread loaf which is divine).

• 1 very large onion or 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 sticks of celery, sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• a large knob of butter (about 25 g)
• 1 kg of frozen sweetcorn
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
• 4 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
• handful of coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 ltr of stock, chicken or vegetable
• spring onion, thinly sliced to serve
• salt and pepper

THE HOW

Heat a large saucepan, add the oil and butter. Gently fry the onion on a medium heat until softened and translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the celery and stir.

Then add in the chilli, potatoes, coriander, garlic and some salt and pepper. Stir again.

Empty in the bag of frozen corn. Add in the stock. The stock should just cover the corn. Stir. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

With a hand blender, blitz until you get the desired consistency. Taste to check the seasoning. Add more if needed.

To serve, ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the spring onion.