Seafood Chowder Base Recipes

DANIELLE'S SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• Melt butter with olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat; stir in onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Whisk flour into butter mixture; whisk in half-and-half and juice from drained clams.
• Stir Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into onion mixture until melted, about 2 minutes; stir in potatoes, cream-style corn, corn kernels, and cherry tomatoes. If soup is very thick, stir in water, about 1/2 cup at a time, as desired; bring soup to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Season with sea salt and pepper.
• Stir drained clams, haddock, and shrimp into soup; simmer until haddock and shrimp are fully cooked for 5 minutes. Stir in lobster and its juice; cook just until heated through.

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.

SEAFOOD CHOWDER BASE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot. Add onions and garlic. Sweat until soft. Add potatoes and continue to sweat for another 3 minutes. Add white wine and allow to vaporize a little. Add fish stock. Cook for 30 minutes. Buzz the soup and strain through sieve. Return soup to boil and add cream. Adjust seasoning with lemon, salt & pepper. Cool and store chilled, labeled and dated.

SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• 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; 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. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
• 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.

SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• Place 1/2 cup milk, cream cheese, and garlic in a large pot over low heat. Cook and stir until blended. Mix in soup, green onions, carrots, corn with liquid, potatoes, parsley, and remaining milk. Season with black pepper and cayenne pepper. Simmer 25 minutes. Do not boil.
• Mix the shrimp, scallops, crabmeat, calamari, and clams, and continue cooking 10 minutes, or until seafood is opaque.

RICH SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrot; cook and stir until crisp-tender, 2-3 minutes. Stir in flour until blended; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. , Add stock, potato, Worcestershire, salt and pepper; return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until potato is tender, 10-15 minutes. , Add the shrimp, clams, crab and cream cheese; cook and stir until shrimp turn pink and and cheese is melted, 4-5 minutes. Garnish with parsley.

THE CHOWDER SOUP BASE

Steps:

• Sauté the pork or bacon bits slowly with the butter in a large saucepan for 5 minutes, or until pieces begin to brown. Stir in the onions and bay leaf; cover, and cook slowly 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are tender. Drain off fat and blend crackers or bread crumbs into onions. Pour in the liquid; add the potatoes and simmer, loosely covered, for 20 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender. Season to taste with salt and white pepper, and the soup base is ready.
• Chowder suggestions: New England clam chowder
• For about 2 1/2 quarts, serving 6 to 8. Scrub and soak 24 medium-size hard-shell clams. Steam them for 3 to 4 minutes in a large tightly covered saucepan with 1 cup water, until most have opened. Remove the opened clams; cover, and steam the rest another minute or so. Discard any unopened clams. Pluck meat from the shells, then decant steaming-liquid very carefully, so all sand remains in the saucepan; include the clam-steaming liquid as part of the chowder base. Meanwhile, mince the clam meats in a food processor or chop by hand. Fold them into the finished chowder base. Just before serving, heat to below the simmer-so the clams won't overcook and toughen. Fold in a little heavy cream or sour cream if you wish; thin with milk if necessary, correct seasoning, and serve.
• Fish chowder
• Prepare the chowder base using fish stock (page 5), and/or light chicken stock (page 4), and milk. Cut into 2-inch chunks 2 to 2 1/2 pounds of skinless, boneless lean fish, such as cod, haddock, halibut, monkfish, or sea bass, all one kind or a mixture. Add to the finished chowder base and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, just until fish is opaque and springy. Correct seasoning, and top each serving, if you wish, with a spoonful of sour cream.
• Chicken chowder
• Substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts for fish, and make the chowder base with chicken stock and milk.
• Corn chowder
• Prepare the chowder base using 6 cups of light chicken stock and milk. Stir 3 cups or so of grated fresh corn into the finished base, adding, if you wish, 2 green and/or red peppers chopped fine and sautéed briefly in butter. Bring to the simmer for 2 to 3 minutes; correct seasoning, and top each serving, if you wish, with a spoonful of sour cream.
• To Prepare Clams
• Scrub one at a time under running water, discarding any that are cracked, damaged, or not tightly closed. Soak 30 minutes in a basin of salted water (1/3 cup salt per 4 quarts water). Lift out, and if more than a few grains of sand remain in the basin, repeat. Refrigerate, covered by a damp towel. Use them within a day or two.
• Note
• You may leave out the pork and substitute another tablespoon of butter for sautéing the onions.

SIMPLE SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, then add the onion and bacon. Cook for 8-10 mins until the onion is soft and the bacon is cooked. Stir in the flour, then cook for a further 2 mins.
• Pour in the fish stock and bring it up to a gentle simmer. Add the potatoes, cover, then simmer for 10-12 mins until the potatoes are cooked through.
• Add the mace, cayenne pepper and some seasoning, then stir in the milk.
• Tip the fish pie mix into the pan, gently simmer for 4 mins. Add the cream and shellfish, then simmer for 1 min more. Check the seasoning. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve with some crusty bread.

CREAMY SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• Finely chop celery and peel and finely chop carrots, onions and potatoes.
• Boil in veg broth and water until tender.
• Melt butter, mix with flour and add paste to vegetables & broth.
• Add whipping cream and pepper seasoning and bring to boil.
• Add shrimp, scallops and crab. Bring to boil to heat seafood. Serve.

EASY SEAFOOD CHOWDER

Steps:

• Tip the potatoes into a small saucepan and cover with cold salted water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat , then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-6 mins until just softened. Drain and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat and cook the celery and shallot for 3 mins until softened. Add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
• Stir in the flour and cook for 1 min. Reduce the heat to low and slowly pour in the milk, whisking until you have a thick sauce. Stir in the stock and simmer for 2 mins until the sauce has thickened slightly again.
• Tip in the fish, vegetables and cooked potatoes, and simmer for 4-5 mins until the veg has defrosted (if frozen) and the fish is cooked through. When the mixture is creamy and coats the back of a spoon, add the lemon zest and juice and up to 50ml water if the chowder is too thick. Season with black pepper, salt and the parsley.
• Pour the chowder into a bowl, top with more black pepper, the extra parsley and serve with crusty bread, if you like.