Seafood Chowder
Recipe video above. This is a seafood soup so good, it's hard to believe it's made with cheap 'n cheerful marinara mix and store-bought stock. Using chicken rather than store-bought fish stock (awful stuff!), a cheeky dash of fish sauce rather than salt and bacon are some of the flavour enhancers we deploy here!Of course, if you use homemade fish stock and a hand-picked mix of fresh seafood, it will be upmarket-restaurant-worthy. :) Also see FAQ for more vegetable options.
Ingredients
- seafood marinara mix
- unsalted butter
- streaky bacon
- garlic
- chardonnay
- flour
- chicken stock /
- carrots
- potatoes
- cream /
- corn
- fish sauce
- white pepper
- chives
- Crusty bread
Method
- 1
Section: ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
- 2
Cook bacon in butter, remove. Sauté garlic, deglaze with white wine, make roux. Add stock, simmer potato, carrots and bacon 10 min. Add cream, corn, fish sauce, pepper, raw seafood - simmer 3 min. Stir in cooked seafood, taste for salt. Serve!
- 3
Section: FULL RECIPE:
- 4
Marinara mix - Separate cooked seafood (usually mussels, sometimes prawns/shrimp) from raw seafood. We put them in at different times.
- 5
Cut any large pieces of fish into 2.5cm / 1" cubes.
- 6
Section: CHOWDER:
- 7
Bacon - In a heavy-based pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add bacon and cook for 3 - 4 minutes until the edges are light golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove into bowl, leaving fat in the pot.
- 8
Deglaze - Add the garlic and cook for 10 seconds (don't let it brown). Add the wine, simmer rapidly on high for 3 minutes, scraping the base to loosen any golden bacon bits, until the wine is mostly evaporated.
- 9
Roux - Reduce heat down to medium, add the flour and mix for 1 minute ("roux").
- 10
Broth - While stirring, pour in about 1 cup of the stock and mix to dissolve the roux - it will thicken into a paste. Add the remaining stock and stir well until lump free (use a whisk if needed).
- 11
Simmer 10 minutes - Increase heat to high, bring to the boil, add the carrots, potatoes and bacon. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 10 - 12 minutes, or until the carrots are just about done.
- 12
Simmer raw seafood 3 minutes - Add the cream, fish sauce, pepper, corn and raw seafood. Simmer for 3 minutes until the fish is just cooked (test - flesh should flake).
- 13
Cooked seafood - Stir in cooked seafood, taste and add more salt if needed (I don't).
- 14
Serve - Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with chives. Serve with warm crusty bread for dunking!
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