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This smoked haddock and sweetcorn chowder is a complete meal in one bowl. It’s really simple to make and using frozen ingredients means you’ve got everything to hand when you need it.
I’m really pleased to be working with Iceland Foods again to bring you another recipe aiming to help reduce food waste using the #PowerOfFrozen.
I don’t know about you, but I find planning what to eat in the summer much harder than in the winter. In winter I know it’s going to be cold, dark and a bit miserable outside and so my meals are always going to be warm and comforting. But the summer is different. Last week I was planning this recipe in 30ºC heat wandering if anyone would really be wanting to eat soup. Today I’m sat wrapped up in layers contemplating putting the heating on knowing that I really want to bowl of nice warm chowder.
Having options I can whip up easily from the freezer depending on whether the sun is out or not is a great way of ensuring I’ve always got something delicious to eat. This means I don’t have to worry about buying for for every possible weather scenario and then some of it going to waste (by the way the sunny days options always involves ice cream 🙂 ).
This haddock and sweetcorn chowder is really simple to make (and using frozen vegetables saves time chopping which in my book is always a good thing!) and is ready in just 25 minutes. As it’s quite chunky it’s also a complete meal in itself so no need to worry about what to serve it with.
The main Iceland ingredients in my chowder
Whilst the main ingredients of my chowder are frozen it does also include a couple of fresh ingredients too – milk (which I always have in the fridge) and potatoes.
In my last post for Iceland I talked about my top tips for reducing food waste. Whilst it’s always my aim in the kitchen to minimise the amount that ends up in my food waste bin, I’m not always successful and one food I have always seemed to struggle with in the past is potatoes.
One problem I have (which goes against my own tips!) is that rather than just buying the amount I need, I’ll buy a bigger pack thinking “well potatoes go with everything so I’m sure they’ll get used up”. I’ll then find them sprouting green bits a while later because I forgot to actually do anything with them.
One of my biggest food waste tips is to note down what you’re throwing away and either stop buying so much, or see if there’s a way you can preserve it so it lasts longer.
I’ve finally found a solution for my potatoes which works brilliantly… freezing them.
How to freeze potatoes to use up later
If you’ve got any leftover potatoes that you don’t want to go to waste here’s what you need to do…
- Cut them up into bite-sized cubes
- Pop them into a pan in some cold water. Bring the pan to the boil and then par boil them for 10 minutes.
- Once they’re par boiled, drain them, leave them to cool, pop them into a container and then freeze them.
- You can then finish boiling them for about 10 minutes whenever they’re needed. In this chowder you’d pop them in at the same time as the fish.
The texture of the potatoes is a little softer using this approach, so I prefer to use them in something (like this chowder) rather than simply serving them by themselves.
I got the inspiration for this potato solution from Pip at the Slimming Foodie who uses a similar approach for making her own frozen oven chips. Another great way of using up leftover potatoes.
Do you have any foods that you struggle to use up? Share them down in the comments and while you’re there see if you can suggest any solutions to anyone else’s – let’s see if we can all help each other out a bit and reduce the UKs annual food waste down from £700 per family per year*.
*according to the government agency Wrap.
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Smoked Haddock & Sweetcorn Chowder
INGREDIENTS
- 100 g Iceland frozen diced onions
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 400 g potatoes - any variety is fine
- 1 litre milk - I use skimmed but any type should work well
- 2 bay leaves - or 1 dried bay leaf
- 3 cloves
- 4 Iceland Smoked Haddock Fillets
- 250 g Iceland Frozen Sweetcorn
- Salt and pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Once hot, turn the heat down low and add the onions (100g). Fry for 5 minutes until softened, stirring them regularly to ensure that they don't burn.
- While the onions are cooking chop the potatoes (400g) into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the potatoes to the pan along with the milk (1 litre), bay leaves (2) and cloves (3). Bring to the boil and then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the smoked haddock fillets and cook for 6 minutes. Remove them from the pan, remove the skin, flake the haddock into bite-sized pieces and return it to the pan. Add the sweetcorn (250g) and cook for a further 4 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaves and cloves, season with salt and pepper and serve.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Egg-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Nut-Free
- Soy-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Food from Iceland can be purchased in store or online. Don’t forget you can get free delivery on orders over £35.
Martine says
Beautiful photos
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
Great dish Charlotte, although I think I might prefer it with a stock base rather than milk. Do you think it would be a possible substitute? x
Charlotte Oates says
I’d imagine it should still work with a veg or fish stock base. You probably won’t need to bay and cloves if you use stock as they add extra savouriness to the milk which wouldn’t be needed in stock. Let me know how it goes if you try it.