Recipes

A favourite from Henrietta Green. This recipe for a courgette and corn chowder - essentially a hearty thick soup - makes the most of any courgette gluts in the garden, happily co-inciding with the corn season. If you buy corn-on-the-cobs from the farmers market, this is a lovely way to use them.

Serves 4

    1 litre (2 pints) milk
    350g (12 oz) frozen sweetcorn kernels, defrosted
    30g (1 oz) flour
    1 small onion, finely chopped
    1½ tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
    1½ tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
    3 large basil leaves, finely chopped
    6 coriander seeds
    5cm (2in) piece of cinnamon stick
    225g (8oz) courgettes (see above), diced
    2 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
    Juice of 1 lime
    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Put about 150ml (¼ pint) of the milk along with 225g (8 oz) of the corn in a food processor and sift in the flour. Whiz until smooth, then strain the mixture into a large saucepan.

Add the remaining milk, onion, ½ tbsp each of the coriander and mint leaves, basil, coriander seeds and cinnamon. Slowly bring to the boil over a low heat, stirring continuously.

Add the courgettes, half the prepared tomatoes and the remaining sweetcorn to the pan. Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the courgettes are tender.

Stir in the remaining chopped tomato and the lime juice (if this curdles the milk, do not worry as it gives the soup a ‘chowder’ look). Remove the cinnamon stick, season and garnish with the remaining herbs.