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Corn and seafood chowder with chilli tortilla crisps
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 3 sweetcorn cobs, with husks
- 1 Romano pepper
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 250g potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1⁄2tsp chilli flakes, plus extra for serving
- 300ml full-fat milk
- 300ml vegetable stock
- 90g ready-prepared brown shrimps
- 90g ready-prepared cockles
For the chilli tortilla crisps
- 4 corn tortillas
- 1⁄4tsp cayenne pepper
Method
To prepare the tortilla crisps, dust the corn tortillas with cayenne pepper and cut them into rough kite shapes. Add the tortillas to a hot ridged grill pan and heat until brown lines appear. Transfer them to a round, deep bowl – as they cool, they will make curved shapes. Heat a griddle pan and, without removing the husks from the corn cobs, cook them for 10 minutes, turning on all sides. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then remove the husks and silk strands. Cut the kernels from the cobs and put the empty cobs and kernels to one side.
Grill the pepper until blistered on all sides, then transfer to a bowl and cover with cling film. When cold, remove the skin and seeds and cut the flesh into small dice.
Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onions, garlic and celery and sweat for 5 minutes. Add the potato and bay leaves and stir to coat with oil, then cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chilli flakes and season. Add the milk, vegetable stock and empty corn cobs and kernels, then simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove the corn cobs and the bay leaves from the soup and blend about half the soup to a purée. Pour it back into the pan, along with the shrimps and cockles. Heat through and serve in bowls scattered with a few pieces of the Romano pepper and some extra chilli flakes. Serve with the tortilla crisps.
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