Ingredients
- 1½ cups ham, roughly chopped
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 potatoes, peeled and diced into small cubes
- 1½ cups frozen corn (or drained canned corn)
- 5 tbsp flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1½ - 2 cups water
- 1½ tsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried thyme), plus extra for garnish
- ½ tsp salt
- Black pepper to taste
Directions
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes until translucent. Do not let the onion brown.
- Add the flour and whisk until mixed through the butter. Pour 1 cup of milk in and whisk until it starts to thicken (around 1½ minutes), then pour the remaining cup of milk in. Whisk until it thickens - around 1 to 1½ minutes. Then add the chicken stock, and 1½ cups of water and whisk until combined.
- Increase heat to medium high and add the potatoes into the soup. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes (see Note), whisking fairly regularly to ensure the soup doesn't stick to the bottom of the saucepan. The soup will thicken as it cooks. Use the remaining ½ cup of water if the soup gets too thick before the potato has finished cooking.
- Just before the potato has finished cooking, add the corn in (just to heat it through).
- While the potato is cooking, heat olive oil in a small fry pan over high heat. Add the ham and sauté for 1 - 2 minutes until nicely browned. Remove fry pan from the heat and set aside.
- When the potato is cooked (tender but still holding its shape), remove the soup from the stove and stir through most of the thyme and ham (reserve a bit for garnish).
- If the soup is too thick for your liking, use water (or milk) to get the soup to your desired consistency. Add the salt and 5 grinds of black pepper, then do a taste test and adjust the salt and pepper if required.
- Serve, garnished with remaining thyme leaves and ham.
NOTE: Small diced potatoes would only take a couple of minutes to cook in water. They take much longer in this soup because they are being cooked in soup that has been thickened with flour. |
