Creamed corn

Serves 4

This is a very familiar way for me to cook corn; sweet, with heat and a creamy texture. It works well with white meat and quail. I also think it's quite delicious with girolle mushrooms.

6 ears of corn, kernels only
25g/1oz unsalted butter
1 red chilli, chopped
1tbsp of sugar
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 medium bunch of coriander
2tbsp crème fraîche or double cream
The juice of one lime
Sea-salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the outer husks of the corn. Rinse under cold water to remove any husky bits. Using a sharp knife, remove the kernels of corn (the easiest way I find to do this is to turn the corn upright, with its base sitting in a bowl to prevent the corn shooting everywhere).

Place the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once melted, add the kernels, chilli, sugar, garlic and chopped coriander stems. Stir to combine and cook gently for 10 minutes. Add a cup of water, stir and cook for 20 minutes until soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Take a third of the cooked kernels and set aside. Purée the other two thirds in a blender until really smooth. At this point I usually pass this purée through a colander to ensure that it is really smooth – if this seems like too much work, you can omit this stage and have an equally lovely soup, but slightly coarser in texture.

Stir in the crème fraîche, the lime juice and the third of the corn that is still whole.

To serve, warm the soup gently through on the stove. I think this is delicious served with so many things. Try it with grilled scallops and red chilli or try it like I've done here served with simply roasted halibut, with girolles fried in olive oil and finished off with a good squeeze of lemon juice and chopped flat leaf parsley.