Seattle Seafood Chowder

SEATTLE SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and crumble. Set bacon aside. Pour off all bacon fat in pot. Place pot back on stove.
• In pot, melt butter and add onion, carrots, celery and bell pepper. Sauté vegetables until soften.
• Sprinkle flour over top of vegetable and stir to combine well. Simmer mixture over low heat for 3 minutes.
• Add paprika, thyme and cayenne. Cook another minute.
• Add clams with juice, clam juice, wine, water and cream. Bring to a boil. Stir frequently.
• Add cubed potatoes and simmer soup for 15 minutes, uncovered.
• Stir in fish, shrimp and scallops. Over low heat simmer mixture for 8 minutes.
• Stir in parsley and bacon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer a minute or two.
• Serve.

SEATTLE-STYLE SMOKED SALMON CHOWDER

Steps:

• SAUTE: Heat the butter in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring, until translucent and softened about 6-8minutes. Add the garlic and the potatoes. Crush the fennel seeds between your fingers and add them in. Add the bay leaves, dried basil, diced tomatoes, 2 ½ cups of stock, capers, and brine. Let the soup gain a rolling simmer, cover, and let cook for 8-15 minutes or until the potatoes cook all the way through. The timing may vary as this depends on how small you dice your potatoes.
• CREAM CHEESE: When the potatoes are fork-tender, remove the lid, kick the heat up to medium and stir in the tomato paste, cream cheese, and old bay seasoning. Allow the cream cheese to melt into the soup.
• SIMMER: Add the heavy cream and reduce the heat to low, allow the chowder to gently warm through until a light simmer develops. Add the shrimp and smoked salmon and let everything just heat through.
• SERVE: the chowder immediately or as I recommend, chill the chowder for several hours before serving. This will allow the flavors to develop further and will help thicken the chowder further. Rewarm before serving. Use additional stock to thin the chowder to preference. Season with additional salt as desired.

BEST SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a large soup kettle or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels; reserve drippings. Saute onions in drippings until tender. Add potatoes and water; bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes., Add the scallops, lobster, shrimp, cod and haddock. Cook for 10 minutes or until scallops are opaque, shrimp turn pink and fish flakes easily with a fork. Add the butter, salt, parsley and curry powder. Stir in milk and evaporated milk; heat through. Garnish with bacon, additional parsley, and oyster crackers, if desired.

SEATTLE SALMON CHOWDER

Steps:

• Rinse fresh salmon; pat dry. Set aside. In a large saucepan heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook carrots, onion, pepper, and celery in hot oil about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
• To poach salmon, bring water to a boil in a large skillet. Add salmon. Return to boil, reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 6 to 8 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with a fork. Remove salmon from skillet, discarding liquid. Flake salmon into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside.
• Stir the broth, potatoes, corn, dill, and salt into vegetables in saucepan. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
• Stir together 1/2 cup of the milk and cornstarch. Add milk mixture to saucepan. Stir in remaining milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Gently stir in poached salmon or canned salmon. Heat through.

SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• Put the clams in a large, heavy Dutch oven, add about 4 cups water, then set over medium-high heat. Cover, and cook until clams have opened, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. (Clams that fail to open should be discarded.) Strain clam broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or doubled-up paper towels, and set aside. You should have 5 or 6 cups. Remove clams from shells, and set aside as well.
• Rinse out the pot, and return it to the stove. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter, and turn heat to medium-low. Add bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the pork has started to brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove pork from fat, and set aside.
• Add the dulse and the leeks to the fat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the leeks are soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, then stir in the carrots, parsnips, potatoes and wine, and continue cooking until wine has evaporated and the vegetables have just started to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add enough clam broth to just cover them, approximately 4 to 5 cups, reserving the rest for another use. Add the thyme and the bay leaves.
• Partly cover the pot, and simmer gently until vegetables are tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop the clams into bits about the size of the bacon dice. When the vegetables are tender, add the cream, and stir in the chopped clams and reserved bacon. Add black pepper to taste. Let come to a simmer. (Do not let chowder come to a full boil.) Remove the thyme and the bay leaves, and discard.
• If serving right away, slip the fish fingers into the chowder, place the scallops on the surface and allow them all to cook into translucence in the heat, approximately 5-7 minutes. But chowder improves mightily if it sits overnight to cure. If you have the time, don't add the fish and scallops right away, but allow the chowder to chill in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat it to a bare simmer before adding and cooking them through. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve, garnished with the chopped parsley.