Calling all chowda-heads!

You don't have to be a Red Sox fan to love this seafood chowder! It's wicked tasty and super elegant, but I swear on Fenway it's not tough to make! I served it recently for dinner with two of our great friends and there was just enough left over for me and my darling husband to have again another night this week. I even gave a bowl away to our own little Kramer across the hall, my little brother-in-law. Note: said brother-in-law, who we will affectionately refer to as 'The Little Guy,' will make many guest appearances as a distinguished taste-tester (and lover) of all recipes frequently throughout this blog.


Now on to the important part: some of this recipe is admittedly a little bit of a labor of love. It calls for homemade fish stock, which would be no trouble if you didn't have to shell the shrimp yourself.  Say that three times fast, I dare you! I promise it is totally worth it, though. But, if you have neither the time, nor the patience (nor the stomach) to do that bit yourself, purchasing the stock from the same place as the fish is totally acceptable. I made the stock the day before to simplify cooking the night of a dinner party and kept in the fridge until it was time to use it; doing that saved me time the day of.  This dish in general made having guests so much easier - when they came over I was able to sit and enjoy their company while a yummy, one-pot meal simmered away on the stove until WE were ready for IT, instead of the other way around. It's even hearty enough to stand alone without side dishes. I did make a couple of notes below so be sure to look out for them when reading through the recipe. Enjoy!

Seafood Stock:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Shells from 1 pound large shrimp
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)*
• 2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped*
• 3 stalks celery, chopped*
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup good white wine
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme, including stems
• *Chef's note - you are going to strain everything out of the stock before using, but you will get more flavor from the veggies if you chop the pieces smaller. Just a rough chop, nothing too fine, but don't cut it into huge pieces, either.

Warm the oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the shrimp shells, onions, carrots, and celery and saute for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook 2 more minutes. Add 1 1/2 quarts of water, the white wine, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Strain through a sieve, pressing the solids. You should have approximately 1 quart of stock. You can make up the difference with water or wine if you need to.

Chowder Ingredients

• 1 pound large shrimp (32 to 36 per pound), peeled and deveined (save shells for stock)*
• 1/2 pound scallops**
• 1/2 pound monkfish***
• 1/2 pound fresh lump crabmeat (I bought mine in a jar)
• 1/4 pound unsalted butter
• 1 cup peeled and medium-diced carrots (4 carrots)
• 1/2 cup medium-diced yellow onion (1 onion)
• 1 cup medium-diced celery (3 stalks)
• 1 cup medium-diced small white or red potatoes
• 1/2 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour****
• 1 recipe Seafood Stock (recipe above)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream (optional but I used it)
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• *Chef's note: I used jumbo shrimp because it was what they had and it was less to peel and clean; worked great!
• **Chef's note: I used bay scallops instead of sea for two reasons - they are smaller (no need to cut to size) and sweeter.
• ***Chef's note: I used cod instead of monkfish because it's what they had; you can substitute with any meaty white fish your fishmonger can recommend.
• ****Chef's note: I substituted 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for the 1/4 cup of flour to keep it gluten free.

Directions

Cut the shrimp, scallops, and monkfish into bite-sized pieces and place them in a bowl with the crabmeat.

In a heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter; add the carrots, onions, celery, potatoes, and corn and saute over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are barely cooked, stirring occasionally. Add the flour (or cornstarch); reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add the Seafood Stock and bring to a boil. Add the seafood; reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 7 to 10 minutes, until the fish is just cooked. Add the heavy cream, if desired, and the parsley just before ladling into dishes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

What I did differently was this - at the point I added the stock, instead of bringing to a boil I put the heat on low so it could come up to temperature slowly while we enjoyed cocktails for 30 minutes or so. Ten minutes before we were ready to eat it was it was already at a low boil so I threw in the fish then instead of letting everything overcook and get too chewy.

And here is what landed on the table with a piece of crusty bread:

It was rich and complex, with great depth of flavor without being too heavy. And, it was a nice spin on soup during the fall! We all went back for seconds. :) 

Are you having a dinner party anytime soon? E-mail me with your photos and recipes! 

xoxo

Chef AP