Cheesy Popcorn Croutons

I really love popcorn. I’m more of a savoury than sweet fan (although I did make myself some of this dark and stormy caramel popcorn at the weekend which was amazingly good…and slightly addictive!!) and salty is definitely my first choice in a trip to the cinema. But popcorn isn’t just a cinema snack and as the proud owner of a popcorn machine I often fire up my slightly indulgent kitchen gadget and spray popcorn kernels all over my kitchen. And making popcorn at home provides the perfect opportunity to experiment with flavours a little more, a good sprinkling of smoked paprika a long with a pinch of salt for example is always a winner for me.

As well as just munching through bowls of the stuff whilst sitting in front of the TV popcorn can be added to other dishes and a few savoury flavoured pieces of popcorn can be used to top a bowl of soup, providing a great wheat free alternative to traditional croutons.

I recently made myself a bowl of roasted cauliflower and parsnip soup and topped it with these cheesy popcorn croutons….and it was really rather delicious.

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup unpopped corn kernels

¼ cup grated parmesan

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Serves 4

Pre-heat an oven to 170°C / 335°F and line a large baking tray with non-stick baking parchment.

If you don’t have a popcorn machine to pop your corn you can follow these instructions to do it in a saucepan instead.

Once popped combine the popcorn with the cheese, oil, oregano and seasoning, tossing together in a large bowl until the corn is evenly coated. Transfer the mixture to the baking tray spreading out into a single layer and then put the baking tray into the oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese has melted slightly, moving the popcorn around on the baking tray halfway during the baking time.

Allow to cool very slightly before using the popcorn ‘croutons’ to top a bowl of soup of your choice.