Seafood Chowder In New Orleans

I've had a pretty easy time finding seafood in the last three cities in which I've lived. But, admittedly, I haven't been in every town in America, so I don't know how easy it might be for you to shop for something fresh from the sea. But if you've never explored, you should.

Look for fresh seafood the way you should look for any fresh food. Look for a quality environment. There should be plenty of fresh ice and fish displayed there and mongers in plain sight. Try to avoid any market where these elements don't exist. If you are purchasing something pre-wrapped, be very cautious. Dates don't always tell the whole story, but if something is out of date, its a big clue as to how often that store is receiving fresh produce. That's what we want, fresh produce.

So, today, I looked for the best deals I could find on a very tight budget and came up with tilapia fillets and shrimp. Unfortunately, there were no fresh clams (fresh clams are actually alive). You can make a chowder out of almost any kind of tender seafood. In other words, not tuna or swordfish. These fish get very tough when overcooked, and your chowder might turn into a leftover to be reheated for lunch tomorrow. Ask your fishmonger for suggestions, if you are at a loss.

Other things you will need are--haha--stock, white wine, and a nice roux.

You may use either a fish stock, a chicken stock, or a vegetable stock. I was limited by what I had on hand, so I used a couple of cans of chicken stock I had in the pantry. And last week when I used a canned crab for a roulade, I saved the juice I squeezed and stored it in a plastic bag in the freezer. That will come in handy for great flavor. Naturally, you may make your own stock. I promise to address the issue of fresh home-made stock in this blog soon.

So, start out this cooking adventure with a roux. Today, we will used a slightly different methodology. We will make enough soup for four. Put about three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a heated pot. Chop half an onion, throw that in, too, seasoning with sea salt, and cook, stirring, until it is opaque. Now be ready to stand at the stove for ten minutes at this point, which means you'll need a clock or timer. Add an equal amount of flour as you used olive oil (here, it will be about three tablespoons). Start stirring it with a wooden spoon, and keep up that action for ten minutes.

We are trying to build the first layer of flavor for that chowder, and you can tell how that progresses by measuring time and looking at the developing color of the flour. It should turn a wonderful golden brown.

Once ten minutes elapsed and you have achieved a nice color, add diced: half a large red bell pepper, half a jalapeno (optional, of course, if you can't take the heat, or more if you love it), and a whole smallish carrot. Stir that continuously for another couple of minutes, taste, and once again lightly seasoning, if necessary. Add cracked black pepper and roughly a tablespoon of finely chopped garlic--more or less as you prefer.

Now for the liquids:

2 cans stock (best if unsalted, and always no msg)

half a bottle of chardonnay or other dry while wine

(if you have a jar of clam juice, use it--I used that 3/4 cup of crab juice I froze)

Into that add two or three large red or white potatoes (not russet--baking potatoes) cubed (diced). For herbs, this combination worked: dill, parsley, and a little thyme. Already the soup should look thick because of your roux, but not too thick because we want our soup to be healthy.

Let the soup cook in a mid-temp range. Don't let it boil away--we want to avoid adding water). But you want the potatoes to cook approximately five minutes. Taste, in case you want to add more garlic, salt, ground black pepper, etc. Let it cook another five minutes or so until the potatoes are tender. This soup should be able to stand alone at this point, so make sure you are happy with the flavor.

Remove your fish, if you are using fish, from the fridge, and lightly salt and pepper the fillets. Drop them whole into the pot. They will break up shortly. Once the fish is broken up, you are close to the end. Add your shell fish now. Rough chop larger pieces, like shrimp or scallops, etc. If you had canned clams, use them, juice and all. If you use fresh shell fish like clams or mussels, you may leave a very few with the shells on, but, make sure they are fully washed, etc. This is more for presentation, but most of your shell fish you should use without shell, so you and your guests don't have deep sea dive and get all messed up just to enjoy your soup. (Go back in the history of this blog to see where I made a Santa Fe chowder with a couple of clams in shell. Looks good, eh?)

If you have a few shells in pot, when they are open, soup is done. If you didn't, check for color and texture, of the shell fish, tasting a bite. Should be tender. Really, you don't want this to cook for more than four minutes or so. Remember the soup is hot, so it will keep cooking.

Lastly, once it is off heat, add approximately a quarter cup milk or so and stir it in. Taste. Be your own judge.

Serve with a nice artisan bread or a salad, and more white wine (or red, who cares?).

This chowder will have a sweet, but black peppery taste (or even hotter if you went with jalapeno or cayenne). And you should be able to taste the garlic (unless you chose to go lightly in that direction--remember you are in control of the vertical and horizontal--this is your chowder). Trust your taste buds. They will never let you down!