Recipes › Sweetcorn › Sweetcorn and Smoked Haddock Chowder
Sweetcorn and Smoked Haddock Chowder
A deeply comforting bowl that lets the sweetness of fresh corn cut through the smoky, savoury depth of haddock. This is the kind of chowder that makes you glad you grew your own — the corn is thick-cut from the cob and holds its texture beautifully in the broth. Serve with crusty bread and eat it while it's still steaming.
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Ingredients
- 4 sweetcorn cobs, kernels cut from the cob, cobs reserved
- 500 g undyed smoked haddock fillet, skin removed, cut into 4cm chunksor use undyed smoked cod
- 600 ml whole milk
- 400 ml fish stock or water
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 celery sticks, finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 350 g waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5cm dice
- 100 ml double cream
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 15 g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (optional)
- 1 pinch flaky sea salt and black pepper
Contains: celery, fish, milk.
Method
- Stand each cob upright in a large bowl and cut the kernels off with a sharp knife, working downwards. Snap the stripped cobs in half and place them in a medium saucepan with the milk and stock. Bring slowly to a bare simmer over a low heat, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. This step extracts a remarkable amount of corn flavour from the cobs.About 20 min
- Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and celery with a good pinch of salt and sweat gently for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.About 10 min
- Add the diced potatoes to the softened vegetables and stir to coat. Strain the infused milk and stock through a sieve into the pan, pressing the cobs firmly to extract every drop of liquid. Discard the spent cobs. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender.About 12 min
- Scoop out roughly a third of the potato and broth mixture into a blender and blend until smooth, then pour it back into the pan. This gives the chowder a creamy body without losing all the texture. Stir in the double cream and smoked paprika.About 3 min
- Add the corn kernels to the pan and stir through. Lay the chunks of smoked haddock on top of the soup, put the lid on, and cook over a very gentle heat for 6–8 minutes, until the fish is just opaque and flakes when pressed. Do not stir vigorously — you want the fish to stay in generous pieces.About 8 min
- Taste carefully for seasoning — the haddock is already salty, so you will likely need only black pepper. Ladle into warm bowls, scatter with chopped parsley if using, and serve immediately.About 2 min
Tips
- The cob infusion step is worth every minute — it gives the broth a sweet, milky corn depth that tinned corn simply cannot replicate.
- Don't rush the fish. Simmering it too hard will make it rubbery and break it into tiny flakes. A gentle, covered steam-poach is the right approach.
- If your corn is particularly starchy, the chowder will thicken as it sits. Loosen it with a splash of milk when reheating.
Ring the changes
- Replace the smoked haddock with 300g of cooked, shredded hot-smoked salmon, added at the very end for a no-cook protein option.
- For a vegetarian version, omit the fish entirely, use vegetable stock, and add 200g of smoked cheddar, stirred in at the end, for a smoky corn and cheese chowder.
Keeping it
Cool completely and refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 2 days. Reheat gently over a low heat — do not boil or the milk will split. Not suitable for freezing once the fish is added.
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