Who’s ready to curl up on the sofa with a bowl of thick, rich, comforting soup?
A bowl of this creamy, smoky, bacon and sweet corn chowder to be precise.
When the days grow shorter, the nights grow longer, and the to-do list turns into a to-do notebook (how does that happen?), comfort can be found in a bowl of creamy, hearty, stuffed with veggies (and a little bit of bacon) soup, with a toasted cheese sandwich on the side.
Quick and easy to put together, this soup will happily bubble away on your stove, filling your home with its aroma of crispy bacon and onion, sweet corn, and the rich, warming tang of smoked paprika.
I don’t have a slow cooker – is it too early for Christmas present hints? But I can just imagine a pot of this soup, cooking gently on low all day, welcoming you home after a busy day.
I’ve long been a fan of thick, rich, creamy soups. I love soup with a lot of texture. Soup you can dig your spoon into.
Soup that is a meal in itself (although of course, the addition of toasted bread and melted cheese is never something to turn down…)
This creamy sweet corn chowder ticks all the boxes. Only seven ingredients, it relies on the starchy potato and corn to create the creaminess, although of course, you can add milk or cream when thinning it, if you are feeling particularly indulgent!
I used some streaky bacon to add tons of flavour, along with a generous amount of smoked paprika to add a smoky warmth. The chunks of potato are soft and tender, the corn kernels are juicy and sweet, and the bacon is rich and meaty – plenty of texture in every spoonful!
Also, note to self: Do not wear a red t-shirt when photographing said soup.
You will discover your reflection in the metal ladle when checking the photographs later. And it just looks weird…
Right, I’m off to the sofa. I’ve got a bowl of creamy, bacon and sweet corn chowder to eat, and the latest Lakeland catalogue to flick through. Hmm, slow cookers are on pages 80-83…
Now where’s my purple highlighter pen?
SMOKY BACON AND SWEET CORN CHOWDER
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 5 rashers streaky bacon
- ½ white onion peeled and diced
- 4 sweet corn cobs kernels removed (approx 550g, if using frozen kernels)
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and diced (approx 275g)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 pint (568ml, 2.4) cups chicken stock (plus more to thin soup if necessary)
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over a medium heat, fry the bacon in the oil until crispy. Remove from the pan, and set aside on a paper towel to blot. When cool enough to handle, chop into small pieces.
- In the same saucepan, gently saute the diced onion in the remaining bacon fat until translucent and softened.
- Add the sweet corn kernels and diced potato. Sprinkle over the smoked paprika, and stir in the stock.
- Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the potato is soft and can easily be crushed with a spoon against the pan edge.
- Puree about ⅓ - ½ of the soup, depending on how much texture you like. Remember, depending on your blender, you might need to allow the soup to cool a little - safety first!
- Return the soup to the saucepan, add the chopped bacon (reserving a little for garnish) and check and adjust seasoning (you might not need salt - stock and bacon will usually provide enough saltiness!)
- Re-heat the soup gently, adding a little more stock to thin if needed, before serving sprinkled with the extra bacon bits.