Seafood Chowder – a Larry’s Catch Tribute

Got my first Larry’s Catch order this week and as the weather turned it was a good time to try out a seafood chowder recipe. This one is a mish mash of these recipes noted below and was verrrrry tasty.

• Recipe Tin Eats Seafood Chowder
• Spend with Pennies Creamy Seafood Chowder
• Simple Bites White Fish and Leek Chowder

Ingredients

• 2 8 oz packages of Larry’s Chowder Mix and 1 8-10 oz package Haddock (cut in bite size chunks)
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 100 g bacon, chopped into bite size pieces
• 1 large leek (white and light green parts only), cut in half lengthwise, wash well, dry and cut in thin half moon slices
• 1 shallot, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/3 cup flour
• 6 cups chicken stock (or veggie stock)
• 1 cup cream (I used 35% cooking cream but you can go lighter if you want)
• 2 large carrots, cut in quarters and chopped
• 4 large potatoes (I used yellow), chopped in bite sized chunks
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper (I found it wasn’t necessary)
• chopped Italian parsley for garnish
• freshly grated pecorino romano for garnish
• lemon wedges for a bit of acidity

Method

1. In a cast iron soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the bacon piece until the edges are browned. Remove from pot leaving the butter and bacon fat behind.
2. Add the leeks and shallot and sauté until softened. Remove from pot and set aside (press lightly to leave some cooking fat in the pot for the garlic.
3. Sauté for a few seconds until aromatic and deglaze the pot with the white wine.
4. Let the wine simmer until mostly gone then add the flour to make a roux. Stir it well for 1 minute to let the flour cook a bit.
5. Using a whisk stir in 1 cup of stock to start dissolving the roux (it will become a thick paste).
6. Add the remaining stock and whisk to make sure it’s smooth and not lumpy.
7. Stir in the Old Bay seasoning, add bay leaves.
8. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Add shallots and leeks, carrots, celery, potatoes and bacon. Lower heat to medium and cook until the carrots, celery and potatoes are just tender.
9. Add the cream and raw seafood and simmer for 3-5 minutes (it won’t take long to cook the seafood – DONT overcook it).
10. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
11. Serve in bowls topped with freshly grated cheese and a healthy sprinkle of parsley.

Serve with warm, crusty bread and lemon wedge and add a fresh green salad for a hearty, healthy fall meal!

Makes 8-10 good sized servings.