Tuesday Tasties No.8

Good morrow my lovelies.  Another week is upon us and with it is the realisation that Christmas is only around the corner.  I won't annoy you all by pointing out that I've almost finished my festive present shopping, but instead that I've barely started to obtain all the festive tasty treats I want lining my cupboards before the big day hits.

Smoked Haddock Chowder

Anywho, I'll get on with things shall I?  Please don't let the name of the dish put you off cooking it.  The flavours are actually incredibly mellow; a lovely creamy base is complimented by the sweetness of the corn, the saltiness of the bacon and the subtle smoky flavour of the fish.  You'll need:

• 2 smoked fish fillets, I used Basa
• 550 ml semi-skimmed milk, you can use whole if you'd like
• One small can of sweetcorn, drained
• 100g bacon lardons
• 1 leek (albeit I used two super small ones)
• One sweet potato, diced - I noticed as I started I didn't have any so I grabbed some casserole vegetables out of the freezer, I love a bit of improv in the kitchen
• 250ml of chicken or vegetable stock

First of all, pop the milk and the fish in a large saucepan and simmer gently for around 5 minutes.

Once this is done, take out the fish, and add the milk and half of the sweetcorn into a blender and give it a good old blitz.  Once this is done flake your fish (it should have cooled a wee bit by this point) and discard the skin if there is any!

Give your pan a quick wipe over and then add the bacon lardons and cook until they're starting to brown, then add the chopped leeks.  You won't need to add any extra oil as the fat from the bacon is enough.

Once you've reached this stage, add your sweet potato (or casserole vegetables if like me you're rubbish and you've forgotten to get some tatties in).  Add your stock on top of this and simmer for around 10 minutes until the vegetables have softened.

Now it's time for the final stages!  Add the milk/sweetcorn mixture and your flaked fish back to the pan along with the leftover sweetcorn and heat through gently.

Give everything a quick stir and then dish up.  SORTED.

This is a wonderfully comforting dish, trust me when I say the smoked fish is a very subtle flavour. This makes enough for 4 so I made a full batch and I've popped some in a lunch box to take in to work tomorrow with a slice of bread to mop up the sauce.

This recipe has been slightly adapted from a recipe I read in Waitrose Kitchen.  Honestly, that magazine is fab for cooking inspiration and budget meal ideas.