The Sun is Shining Sweetcorn Soup

I saw this recipe from Nigella during the week and thought I might give it a go for some weekend lunch.  When I read the recipe closely I wasn't keen on the idea of blitzed up sweetcorn so although it would make it far less like a chowder and more like a soup I decided to keep the corn more chunky and just rely on the semolina to thicken.  That is, I decided to freestyle with a recipe I had never even eaten before, much less made. The result was actually a pretty tasty lunch and the colour reflected the sunshine outside on this nearly-spring Saturday and not bad for less than 30 minutes work.  I accompanied it, as Nigella instructs, with toasted tortillas with cheese, it seemed churlish not to!

I used:


300g drained sweetcorn (either fresh or defrosted)
300ml vegetable stock
30g semolina
1 chilli, chopped
Tortilla chips 
80g sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper


Turn the oven on to preheat at 180 degrees.
Blitz 200g of the sweetcorn in the processor with the semolina and then add to a saucepan with the rest of the corn and the stock.
Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer.
Add half of the chilli and 20g of the cheese to the soup and season generously with salt and pepper.
Simmer on a low heat for about ten minutes.
Meanwhile, lay as many tortilla chips as you fancy (we liked having extras on the side to dunk!) on a baking sheet, cover in the rest of the cheese and put in the oven until the cheese has melted.
Serve the soup with tortilla chips, which will sink and go slightly soft, and the rest of the chilli on top.


Serves two.


This has been deemed worthy of further experimentation and although this is perfectly tasty as it is and also not too heavy for a lunch time meal next time I think I will throw in some cooked bacon to the soup and maybe a bit more cheese too!