Spicy Sweetcorn Soup (with bacon or tofu)

Spicy Sweetcorn Soup is a slightly misleading title from the Hairy Dieters as it includes bacon. But don’t despair if  you’re vegetarian. The bacon is cooked separately and only added to the soup at the end. For a vegetarian version, use veggie stock and add firm smoked tofu which you can crisp up, as per the Hairy Dieters’ suggestion.

Whether you include the bacon or not, this is a cracking ‘meal in a bowl’ containing onion, red pepper, sweet potato, sweetcorn and coriander, spiced up by the chipotle paste. This soup can be enjoyed anytime of year, but it really comes into its own when the cold weather sets in. If you’re a fan of home-made soups, check out some other suggestions here.

Recipe: Spicy Sweetcorn Soup

Calories: 274 per serving

Serves: 4

Book: Hairy Dieters – Fast Food

Prep time: Approx 20 mins

Cooking time: Approx 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 1 red pepper (deseeded and diced)
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 sweet potato (finely diced)
• 3 tsp chipotle paste (from supermarkets)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• A bunch of coriander (stems and leaves separated and chopped)
• 700g frozen sweetcorn
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 ltr hot chicken or vegetable stock
• Sea salt
• Ground black pepper
• 75g smoked back bacon (trimmed of fat and cut into fine strips)

Cost per portion: Approx £1.05

Method:

Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and pepper and fry them gently for a few minutes, stirring regularly, then add the garlic and sweet potato. Stir for a minute. Add 2 tsp of the chipotle paste and the cumin and stir to coat the vegetables. 

Add the chopped coriander stems and sweetcorn, then pour in the tomatoes and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the soup to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes, until the sweet potato is tender.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a small frying pan and fry the bacon for a couple of minutes. Add the rest of the chipotle paste and stir until the bacon is coated in the chipotle. Ladle half the soup into a blender and blitz it to a purée, then tip it back into the saucepan with the rest. Alternatively, use a stick blender to whizz the soup so it thickens but still has some texture. Serve in deep bowls garnished with the chipotle bacon strips and some of the chopped coriander leaves.