Chowder always makes me think of Disneyland. When I was backpacking I swung by the theme park in California and my travel companion at the time went to one of the themed restaurants for a corn chowder served in a hollowed out bread bun. It looked amazing. It was a gorgeously sunny day, we were having a whale of a time, in a rare display of bravery I had even been on rollercoasters that went upside down, I was peckish: I wanted that soup. Obviously I stuck to my vegetarian guns and had some nice barbecued vegetables elsewhere in the park, but for a long time I’ve been wanting to try chowder.
And now I have finally made my own! Perhaps I should go to Disneyland in Hong Kong to celebrate.
Cauliflower & Corn Chowder
Serves 4, from Cranks Bible
Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, trimmed and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cauliflower, chopped into small florets
750ml vegetable stock
1 tsp Dijon mustard
300g frozen sweetcorn
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion and leek for 5-7 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cauliflower and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and blend until smooth (use a handheld blender if you’ve got one, it’s much easier).
5. Return to the heat, stir in the Dijon and sweetcorn, season well and cook through for about 7 minutes. Serve!