What makes this chowder recipe our favourite? To start, it has bacon! Smoky, salty tiny pieces are fried until crisp, then reserved to be swirled in at the end. Flour, stock and cream, added to beautifully sautéed vegies give us a soupy richness and, to finish, seafood is perfectly poached in the barely simmering liquid. The result? A hearty yet elegant soup, worthy of a restaurant, yet all on the table in 30 minutes.
How to make a seafood chowder: key tips
This chowder is made using a holy trinity known as a mirepoix. While typically made with onion, the addition of leek to the carrot and celery provides a slightly sweeter and softer element. Sautéed in butter, the mirepoix provides a deep, sweet base ready to be built upon.
Be sure to cook out the flour before adding the stock. It only takes a minute and will eliminate any raw flour taste and smell from the dish, which can detract from the flavour. It’s best to use heated stock so that the temperature doesn’t suddenly dip and increase the cooking time.
After adding your fish pieces, stir often but gently, to move the fish around so that the pieces cook evenly and don’t settle on the bottom of your pan and become stuck. After adding the rest of the seafood and remaining ingredients, you’ll want your chowder to simmer gently. If the mixture boils rapidly, you will risk overcooking your scallops and prawns and causing the fish pieces to break apart.
Serve your chowder immediately, with some crusty bread for dipping.
Key ingredients in this seafood chowder recipe
Choose a firm, white fish for your chowder such as barramundi, snapper, ling or King George whiting. Scallops and prawns are the chosen seafood extras in this recipe, but you could also add crab, lobster and clams, if you wish.
Bacon, caramelised in the pan, adds wonderful salty bursts throughout this chowder. The leek, carrot and celery are the base flavours of the broth, while the potato makes it a little thicker and creamier.
Fish stock can be purchased at some large supermarkets and quality grocery stores.
Here are another 14 chowders to enjoy with a glass of wine, and 100 of our best winter soup recipes to warm your soul.
This recipe was originally submitted by cherbettridge, a member of the Australia’s Best Recipe community. Introduction and additional recipe notes by Australia’s Best Recipes team and Natasha Shaw.
Ingredients
- 60g butter
- 2 bacon rashers finely chopped
- 1 leek finely chopped
- 1 carrot finely chopped peeled
- 1 celery stalk finely chopped
- 1 potato finely chopped peeled
- 1/3 cup Woolworths Essentials Plain Flour
- 4 cups fish stock
- 400 g white fish fillet cut into pieces
- 250 g scallop
- 200 g prawns
- 3/4 cup cream
- 1/3 cup parsley chopped
- 1 pinch salt and pepper *to taste
- 1/3 cup parsley *extra *to garnish
- 1 pinch seasoning *to taste
Method
-
Step 1Heat half the butter in a large pan, then add bacon. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove bacon from pan and reserve.
-
Step 2Add remaining butter, stir in the leek, carrot, celery and potato. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently for 5 minutes, or until vegetables have softened and are lightly golden.
-
Step 3Add flour, cook for 1 minute, then gradually add heated fish stock. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes, or until mixture boils and thickens.
-
Step 4Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-
Step 5Add fish pieces and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
-
Step 6Add scallops, prawns, cream, parsley and reserved bacon. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes without letting soup boil.
-
Step 7Add salt and pepper and garnish with parsley.
-
Step 8Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Where is chowder from?
There are as many fish soups and stews in the world as there are coastal areas. It only made sense for fishermen after hauling in their catch to simmer it in liquid and any flavourings and vegetables at hand. Chowder is the fish soup that America has made its own and was introduced to the New England area by the French, Canadians or British. In 1951 a recipe for chowder was published in the Boston Evening Post. In the form of a poem, no less, the recipe says to layer onion, fish and salt pork with hardtack (a heavy duty flour and water biscuits eaten by sailors) and simmer in red wine and water. Hardtack eventually gave way to potato and cream and shellfish (including clams) were added. Today, most New England chowders use clams alone.
Should chowder be thick or thin?
While chowder is always chunky, it doesn’t necessarily have to be thick. You want it to have substance but don’t want it to be like a thick sauce. The chunkiness traditionally comes not only from the pieces of seafood but also the potato. We recommend using a waxy potato as it will hold its shape while cooking and not break down. This recipe uses a roux (a mixture of butter and flour) to thicken it slightly. The roux has the added benefit of preventing the liquid from curdling when the cream is added.
Does chowder have to have cream in it?
This simple question was once a massive bone of contention. New Yorkers started developing their own tomato-based version of chowder, probably inspired by Spanish and Portuguese immigrants in the area. This incensed the constituents of Maine to the degree that in 1939 they legislated that adding tomatoes to a New England chowder be deemed illegal and the tomatoey version had to be referred to as Manhattan clam chowder. While this recipe is creamy, the bulk of the liquid is provided by the stock so it is not too rich. If you wanted, you could swap the cream for milk or use a combination of both.
What seafood should you use in chowder?
Traditionally, white fleshed fish fillets such as ling, basa, cod, snapper or barramundi should be used, but salmon makes a great addition. You don’t want to use anything too delicate as the flavour of the fish will be swamped by the bacon and cream. The shellfish used can be prawns, scallops, lobster, crab and clams.
Recipe Reviews (35)
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Log in Register