Soups, stews and chowders are the perfect winter food, although I love them all year round. Here’s an easy chowder recipe that I’ve been using as a main dish. It’s hearty enough to leave you satisfied on its own, but you could always add a slice of bread, or the tortillas that the recipe mentions.
I found the recipe on the Jamie Oliver website. The only changes I made were to use canned corn, to rinse the black beans before adding them, and serving with a dollop of yogurt. A number of people commented on the Jamie Oliver website that their soup was grey, so I think rinsing the beans first helped to avoid that.
This made quite a large batch, which was excellent for leftover lunches for several days.
What you need:
- 1/2 bunch cilantro stems
- olive oil
- 2 small onions, chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 2 sticks of celery, sliced
- 250 g cooked chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
- 400 g tin of black beans, rinsed
- 750 ml organic chicken stock (or water and chicken bouillon)
- 1 fresh corn on the cob or 1 can Peaches and Cream corn
- 1 bay leaf
For serving:
- cilantro greens
- Plain yogurt (optional)
- 2 corn tortillas (optional)
- 1 lemon
What you do:
- If you need to cook the chicken breast, flatten it a bit first by pounding it with a mallet, rolling pin or heavy frying pan. This will help it to cook uniformly, and you won’t have dried out or raw bits. Add a little olive oil to a frying pan, then add the salted chicken breast, sprinkling on a little chili powder if you want. Let it cook a few minutes per side until cooked through. Set aside to cool.
- Pick the cilantro leaves and set aside for garnishing. Finely slice the stalks. Peel and chop the onion and garlic, slice the celery finely.
- Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a large saucepan and place it over a medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery and cilantro stalks, then sauté for about 10 minutes. The vegetables should soften but not brown.
- Add the cumin and cayenne to the pan and fry for about a minute. Add the black beans, chicken stock and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cut or shred the chicken breast and add it to the pot. Cut the corn kernels from the cob or use the corn from the can along with its liquid, and stir into the chowder. Allow to simmer for about 5 more minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the lemon juice. Serve with optional tortillas and a dollop of yogurt, and sprinkle with the cilantro leaves.
Trust in Kim (she will guide thee) 