Mexican Street Corn Soup

I’m always on the look out for new and interesting flavours of soup. I just love the flavours in Mexican foods so it was hardly surprising when this soup caught my eye. Soup is never hard to make but this has to be one of the quickest, easiest and tastiest soups ever. A lovely winter warmer or nice starter to a Mexican meal. Give it a go I promise you will make it again and again.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil

3×198 cans of sweetcorn, drained

1 small onion, chopped

1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes

1tsp paprika, plus extra to serve

half tsp ground cumin

900ml vegetable stock

1 lime, half juiced, half thinly sliced

60g Feta cheese, crumbled

Method

Heat half the oil in a wide based pan over a medium heat. Pour in the sweetcorn keeping it in a single layer as much as possible. Cook undisturbed for 2 mins so the kernels turn golden on the bottom. Stir, spread out again and repeat until the sweetcorn is golden and charred in spots. Cook for 1 min more then tip into a bowl. Add the remaining oil to the pan then fry the onion and potato for 3-4 minutes until slightly softened and pale golden in colour. Add the spices and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the stock.

Put 3 tbsp of the sweetcorn into a separate bowl., then add the rest to the pan. Bring to the boil reduce heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 5-10 minutes, until the potato is soft.

Remove the pan from the heat and squeeze in the lime juice. Blitz using a hand blender or put into a processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

Serve in bowls and top with reserved sweetcorn , chilli, lemon slices, Feta and a sprinkling of paprika. A side portion of crusty bread or Tortillas makes this insanely delicious.

Hot Charred Cherry Tomatoes with Cold Yogurt

Summer produced an abundance of tomatoes in the greenhouse and as they ripen they give this lovely sweetness. they can be eaten as they are, cooked or chopped and dressed. I love cherry tomatoes so was thrilled when I found this recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi. there is a lovely contrast between the hot and cold ingredients that becomes so moreish. this dish can be served as a starter or as part of a mezze, with a crusty bread to mop up the juices.

Ingredients

350g Cherry tomatoes

3tbsp olive oil

three quarter tsp cumin seeds

half tsp light brown sugar

3 garlic cloves

3 sprigs tyme

5g fresh oregano, 3 sprigs left whole the rest roughly chopped

1 lemon – zest of one half shaved off in three wide strips (i used a potato peeler for this) the other half grated

Salt and black pepper

350g fridge cold extra thick Greek-style yogurt

half tsp chilli flakes

Method

Heat oven to Gas 7, 200C,180C Fan. Put the tomatoes in a dish large enough to hold then in a single layer but snuggly. Add the oil, cumin, sugar, garlic, thyme, oregano sprigs, lemon strips, half a tsp salt and a good grind of pepper. roast for twenty minutes until the tomatoes are beginning to blister and the liquid is bubbling., then turn the ovent to the grill setting and grill for 6-8 minutes, until the tomatoes start to blacken on the top. While the tomatoes are roasting, mix the yogurt with the grated lemon zest and a little salt and then return to the fridge.

Once the tomatoes are ready, spread out the chilled yogurt on a platter with a lip and make a few dips in it here and there with the back of a spoon. Spoon the hot tomatoes on top as well as the pan juices, lemon peel, garlic and herbs and finish with the remaining oregano and chilli flakes. Serve at once with some good crusty bread. Enjoy.