SMOKED HADDOCK, BEAN AND SWEETCORN CHOWDER

A rich and warming soup that can be on the table in 20 minutes

I don’t make New Year resolutions – certainly not ones concerning what to eat. January is such a sluggish month that I think we should focus on feeding our souls as best we can.

At this time of year, food needs to be about comfort and warmth, and soup is probably what I will be consuming the most over the next few weeks. I love how nurturing a big bowl of soup can feel and I also love the process of cooking it.

While I urge you to look up Ottolenghi’s curried lentil and coconut soup and Delia Smith’s carrot and artichoke soup – two of my favourites – you don’t really need a recipe for soup. It’s more a formula of cooking and combining vegetables/meat/ grains with liquid. This can be

Good stock is the foundation of soup – use the best you can buy

done in a multitude of ways, all with very good results. If I’m feeling particularly lazy I’ll just bung a load of vegetables in a roasting tin and cook until caramelised, then blend with stock for the easiest of soups. One thing I would suggest, though, is to use a good stock – it is the foundation of your soup, and it deserves to be the best you can stretch to.

This week’s recipe is one of my go-tos. It’s packed with vegetables, has protein from fish and white beans and it makes a truly soothing and satisfying meal. It also freezes well. I hope it brings you a warming start to 2024.

Do you have a great recipe for eating well and cutting food bills? Email editor@you.co.uk.

If we print it here, we’ll send you a bottle of champagne

METHOD Put the smoked haddock in a medium saucepan

with 350ml whole milk. Set over a high heat until the milk is steaming hot with a few small bubbles on the surface. Remove from the heat and set aside for about 10 minutes, turning the fish halfway if it’s not completely submerged in the milk.

Meanwhile, halve and finely slice the leeks. Heat 1 tbsp butter and a splash of cooking oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Sweat the leeks with a pinch of salt for 5-6 minutes until soft.

Drain and rinse the cannellini beans and sweetcorn

then add to the leeks along with 500ml chicken or vegetable stock. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Strain the milk into the pan with the vegetables and set the fish aside. With a stick or stand blender, whizz about two-thirds of the vegetables in their liquid with a grind of black pepper and the juice of half a lemon.

Return everything to the pan

then flake in the fish (discarding any skin). Check the seasoning, add a splash of water to loosen if desired. Scatter with some chopped parsley and serve with crusty bread.

400g can cannellini beans

220g smoked haddock

326g can sweetcorn