This light soup is a great way to slip fresh corn (and tilapia, of course!) into your late-summer menu. Make it a meal: Enjoy with a mixed green salad and oyster crackers.

Makes 6 servings, about 1 1/4 cups each

ACTIVE TIME: 45 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 45 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

2 ounces bacon (about 2 slices)
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 stalk celery, diced
1 leek, white part only, halved lengthwise, rinsed and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)
1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets, cut into bite-size pieces
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 cup half-and-half
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (optional)

1. Chop bacon and cook in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crispy, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
2. Add oil to the pan. Add celery, leek, salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables just begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add broth, potatoes and corn. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until the potatoes are just tender and the corn is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Stir in tilapia and thyme; return to a gentle simmer. Cook until the tilapia is cooked through, about 4 minutes more. Remove from the heat.
3. Stir in half-and-half, lemon juice and the reserved bacon. Garnish with chives, if using.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 288 calories; 10 g fat (4 g sat, 3 g mono); 78 mg cholesterol; 22 g carbohydrate; 31 g protein; 2 g fiber; 453 mg sodium; 598 mg potassium.

Nutrition bonus: Selenium (73% daily value), Vitamin C (25% dv), Potassium (17% dv), Folate (16% dv), Magnesium (15% dv).

1 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings

Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 3 very lean meat, 2 fat

I used fat free chicken broth and skim milk instead of half & half, which dropped the fat grams and still made a very delicious soup.

, Lansing, MI

I love the taste of the bacon in this soup. A little goes a long way! Another way to lower the fat in this recipe if that is a concern, is to use fat free half and half and also center-cut bacon. This soup makes good leftovers as well!

Anonymous, Colchester, VT

easy and quick to make - very tasty - enough to package for lunch a couple days after too

, costa mesa, ca

I thought this was pretty good and I will make it again sometime. It's quite easy and quick to make (less than an hour from arriving home to eating dinner). I used whole milk instead of half-and-half, and dried thyme instead of fresh, and I didn't have any chives. However, I don't think those were good decisions - my husband thought it was too bland/watery the way we made it, and I sort of agree. We like our food very flavorful, so I will make sure I have the fresh thyme and chives next time, and probably try the half-and-half. This was my first time eating tilapia and I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not a big fish eater, although I try, but I found the tilapia very mild-tasting and the firm texture was nice. FYI, Environmental Defense says to eat US-farmed tilapia, not Latin American, if it's available.

Krista, Boston, MA

This was not bad but nothing that knocked my socks off. I followed the recipe exactly. My husband and myself had to add quite a bit of salt (after the fact) to improve the flavor.

Kathy, Odessa, DE