Fish and bacon chowder - original recipe

This is a flavoursome and hearty (and economical) main meal soup, even though it looks a bit uninspiring. Stir in some single cream and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, grated nutmeg and maybe some snipped up fresh chives or chopped parsley just before serving. Serve with fresh bread - herb and garlic or olive bread goes well with it. I always make it in the pressure cooker, so it cooks very quickly. 

serves 4 - 5

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 350g bacon, chopped
• olive oil
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 450g - 500g white fish fillets (the cheap frozen kind work fine in this recipe)
• 500 - 600 g potatoes, peeled and chopped into bitesized chunks
• 1 bayleaf
• 1.5 l chicken or fish stock, preferably home made without added salt
• salt and pepper
• dash or two of milk (optional)
• 1 - 2 tbsp single cream
• freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tbsp chopped chives or parsley

1. Heat the bacon gently in a large pressure cooker or large deep cooking pot until the fat starts to run out. If the bacon is very lean add some olive oil.
2. Toss in the onion and mixed herbs and fry gently to soften.
3. Toss in the potato and saute gently for a couple of minutes.
4. Pour in the stock, add the bayleaf and season well with black pepper. Hold back with the salt as the bacon usually adds enough.
5. If using a pressure cooker, lay the whole frozen fish fillets on top, no need to defrost first. Close the cooker and bring up to pressure. It will take a while to come up to pressure, during which time the fish will thaw and start to cook. Once at pressure, cook for about 3 minutes, then let the pressure down and check if the potatoes are done. This may seem quite short, but you don't want to over cook the fish. If you are using a regular cooking pot it will need longer - cook the chowder without the fish for about 5 minutes to get the potatoes started, then add the fish and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or so; keep checking to see if it's done.
6. Give it a good stir and squish some of the potatoes to thicken it up a bit. You can add a dash of milk at this stage if it look a bit watery (although it will taste just fine without).
7. Check the seasoning, adding more salt if necessary.
8. Pour into bowls, stir a dash of single cream into each bowl and grate some nutmeg over the top, along with a grind of fresh black pepper. Sprinkle over some fresh herbs if you have them and serve with plenty of bread and butter.