Saturday, November 22, 2008

Saturday Soups-- # 4 Fall, 2008

How about a nice seafood chowder for this week? Apropos of nothing in particular, unless you think that the first Thanksgiving meal had a seafood chowder. It may very well have--given the location on Cape Cod, no doubt seafood featured prominently in the diet of the early Pilgrims.

Here's a History channel site that suggest what might have been on that first meal. I don't know--it's not a Thanksgiving meal without cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie.



Enjoy the chowder.



New England Seafood Chowder
Makes 12 servings.


8 bacon slices, chopped
2 large yellow onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
1 T. curry powder
4 8-oz. bottles clam juice
4 cups 1/2-inch dice peeled white potatoes (about 3 lbs.)
4 cups 1/2-inch dice peeled butternut squash (about 3 lbs.)
2 bay leaves
2 cups chopped kale leaves
5 cups milk
1 cup half and half
2 tsp. dried, crumbled thyme (or 2 T. minced fresh thyme)
3 lbs. mixed fresh fish (cod, halibut, haddock, and/or scrod) cut into 3/4-inch pieces

1) In a large heavy-bottomed pot, place bacon and saute over medium heat until thoroughly
cooked. Drain approximately 1/2 of the fat from the pan (leave 1-2 T.) in the pan along with the bacon. Add chopped onions and saute for two minutes. Add curry powder and cook mixture until very fragrant (about 5 minutes).

2) Stir clam juice into the pot and bring to a boil. Add potatoes, butternut squash, bay leaves, and chopped kale. Cook for 15 minutes until all vegetables are just soft.

3) Add milk, half and half, and thyme to the pot. Warm gently, being careful not to boil after
adding the dairy products.

4) Add the fish pieces and cook for 3-5 minutes, until fish is just cooked through.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, YUM! I'm going to try this one too! Thanks.

JeanMac said...

Sounds good - my Maritimer man will enjoy it.

NCmountainwoman said...

I've never made a seafood chowder, but this one looks really hearty. Problem is, there are only the two of us on soup Wednesday, and this type of soup doesn't freeze well. I'll save the recipe for when our children come for a visit.

Unknown said...

That sounds delish. YUM!

KGMom said...

Carolyn--since the soups are sized to serve 12--you could at least cut recipe in half. As for freezing, actually all the recipes for our church's Bistro are touted as freezable. I would think you could, if you left out the fish, and wait to add that until you are serving it.

Denise said...

I have never tried Seafood Chowder before, but this sounds wonderful. I like fish so I cannot imagine I would not like it. I just have to talk Gail into trying it. Your Pumpkin Soup recipe looks good too. I just recently tried Creamed Carrot with Dill soup. Very yummy! BTW, Gail has been practicing making pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. He just decided that he could make the pies. I was elated! So far, he made 5 pies - different recipes, trying to find the perfect one. I think he finally has it down. I haven't gotten tired of Pumpkin Pie yet! First cookies, now pies…what is next?

Ruth said...

Another delicious soup. I like the addition of squash and kale...lots of fish here. Will try a 1/2 recipe.

Beverly said...

Sounds good. How about Penn State! I'm sure you're glad you weren't there for that one. The people at the Brewing Company erupted into laughter when they saw the snow. So many said, "We remember those days well." They were glad to be where they were on Saturday.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have their spring training in Bradenton, where I live. As you said, I don't think they'll ever do anything again. We enjoyed the days of the Killer B's, but those days are gone.

Tossing Pebbles in the Stream said...

This chowder looks wonderful. One of the things I miss from my years in New England is plentiful clam chowder. I had a favourite restaurant in Harvard Square. Once on a visit I made a special side trip to get chowder there. The restaurant was no more. I had these reminders that life moves on without me.