Seafood Chowder

Delicious seafood chowder on the menu today. Onion, leek and celery gently sautéed, then simmered in milk and stock. Thickened with potatoes and finished with smoked coley and cooked prawns.

You could easily substitute the coley for haddock or cod. You could also add some mixed seafood like clams, mussels or even calamari. 

The following recipe makes two generous dinner portions or four starter portions.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon / 5g low fat butter spread

• 100g onion. Red or white. Peeled and finely chopped

• 100g leek. Washed, topped, tailed and roughly chopped

• 100g celery. Washed, topped, tailed and roughly sliced

• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme (or a little less if using fresh thyme)

• A good twist of black pepper

• 400ml of chicken or vegetable stock. Made using two stock cubes. Low sodium if possible

• 500ml of low fat milk

• A bouquet garni

• A bay leaf

• 350-400g potatoes. Peeled and cut into small cubes

• 250g smoked coley. Washed and patted dry and roughly cubed

• 1 x 200g tin of sweetcorn. Drained, rinsed in cold water and patted dry

• 160g prawns. Washed, patted dry. You can roughly chop them to make them go a bit further

• The juice of half a lemon

• A good twist of black pepper and a little salt

• Fresh parsley. Washed and finely chopped to garnish

Method

1. Heat a large pan over a medium to high heat and add the butter and when it's bubbling, add the onion, leek and celery to the pan. Add the thyme and season with black pepper and fry for 8-10 minutes until softened, but not coloured.
2. Next add the stock and milk and stir to combine. Add the potatoes, bouquet garni and bay leaf and increase the heat. Allow the the soup to come to the boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for approximately 15 minutes until the potatoes have softened. You should partially cover the pot with a lid or plate.
3. Next add the coley and allow to cook for a further 5-8 minutes until the fish is cooked.
4. Next add the sweet corn, prawns and lemon juice and stir carefully to combine (so as not to break the fish up too much).
5. Remove the bouquet garni and bay leaf and taste the chowder and add salt and pepper as needed.
6. Serve in warm bowls and garnished with the fresh parsley.