Seafood Chowder

Seafood chowder

This is a great time of year for soup and chowder. Enjoy the warmth it brings to the table. I'm going to serve this with Popovers -- I'll give you that recipe on the next blog.

Since I haven't actually made this yet -- later today -- I'll tell you what I intend to do. Just be aware that I might actually tweak this as I go. One never knows what the creative juices might add to the pot during the actual process.

Ingredients:

Clams -- one cup small clams or lg. clams chopped -- I like large pieces. [If you steam the clams open yourself, do so in a small amount of liquid and save the liquid for the chowder (make sure you strain it through a fine sieve and preferably a linen towel or at least cheesecloth).

Fish -- about 1/2 a pd or so; almost any white fish with firm flesh will do -- I'm going to use Stripper bass I caught off N.J.

Shrimp -- 1/2 a pound, chopped in a large dice

One Idaho or other firm potato (about 1/2 a pound, peeled and chopped in small dice)

Peas or Corn or both (Veggies added can be to your own taste and the season, almost anything goes that doesn't take away from the rich broth and flavor of the fish)

Celery, fine to medium chop -- to taste (1/2 a cup)
Onions, fine to medium chop -- to taste (1/2 a cup)
Garlic (optional, couple of cloves minced)

One small bay leaf
pinch or two of thyme
large pinch or two of parsley, or fresh chopped -- couple of tablespoons
Salt and pepper to taste [NOTE! Seafood can be salty on its own; this is one of those times I actually taste the broth before adding to the pot.]

Fish broth and/or clam broth, a quart or so (quantity dependent on how much chowder you want and how thick with ingredients you want it).

Milk or Cream (Cream obviously adds calories and cholesterol)
A bit of butter (your choice to add for flavor, or not)

Thickener [Note: I like a THICK chowder, so I typically thicken it near end of cooking time. You can argue about what to use -- I use flour, typically, but try to keep it to a tablespoon or so. Corn starch or even egg yolks (more cholesterol) can also be used.]

This is simple to make once you have all the ingredients ready. Saute onions, celery, and garlic (if used) in butter or olive oil until translucent. [Note: browning these veggies more will change the flavor and add a richness to the broth -- your choice]. Put everything in the pot, including the celery/onion mixture, but NOT the rest of the veggies and reserve some of the milk or cream. Simmer for an hour or more on very low heat in a nice heavy pan(should just barely roil in center of pot). I like to give it a couple of hours for everything to blend.

This next part is optional: turn off heat and let the chowder sit for a couple of hours to blend flavors. You can take out the bay leaf at this point.

Turn heat back on about a hour before serving -- add rest of veggies and return to a simmer. Cook forty minutes or so until potatoes are soft.

Mix flour in with reserved milk and add to gently boiling broth. Stir to thicken. Serve warm with freshly made bread, corn bread, or popovers.

Enjoy!