The best seafood chowder you'll ever have.

Even though I'm a bit off season and seafood chowder doesn't exactly constitute as a popular summer dish, this recipe is too perfect to ignore. This is my second time to make it. I made the chowder originally back in March and I couldn't  fault the finished product. I don't think I've had nicer in restaurants; which is always a great confidence booster when you try create something on your own!

I read a variety of different recipes online which called for different things, but all shared one thing in common, 'Don't over cook the fish'. I decided on a homegrown recipe, by Irish chef Kevin Dundon on the RTE website.

Sacrilege to some,  I did alter the recipe slighty; this was more about cost and availability of ingredients.

• 25 g Butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 leek, trimmed and diced
• 1 small carrot, diced
• 1 potato, cubed
• 50 g smoked salmon slices (cut into julienne, long thin strips)
• 120 ml dry white wine (I used yellow tail chardonnay)
• 450 ml tarragon-scented fish stock or water (I used two knorr fish stocks, jelly consistency)
• 225 g mixed fresh fish fillets- skinned and cut into bite-sized pieces - cod, haddock, hake or salmon. (I asked for smoked mixed seafood at the fresh fish counter)
• 175 g raw dublin bay prawns and mussels, scrubbed clean. (I used one pack of frozen mussels, used straight from frozen)
• 1 tblsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 175 ml Cream
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large pan over a medium heat. Add the butter and once it is foaming, tip in the onion, leek, carrot, potato (uncooked) and smoked salmon. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until softened.

Pour the wine into the pan and allow to bubble down and reduce by half.

  Add the fish stock or water and bring to a simmer, then add the fresh fish and shellfish.

 Return the pan to a simmer and add the parsley and cream, then season to taste.

Cover with a lid and simmer gently for another 2-3 minutes until the fish and prawns are tender and all of the mussels have opened, discard any that do not.

To Serve: Ladle the chowder into warmed serving bowls, piling plenty of the fish and shellfish into the centre of each one.

 

College is finally finished..I've been a student for as long as I can remember. It feels strange, but great. Even though I thought I'd miss it, during the last couple of weeks I couldn't wait to get it over with. One of my last final projects was this review website I created. Click here to see reviews of some of Dublin's better coffee houses.

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