Fisherman's Chowder En Croute

I once had a recipe for a great seafood chowder but can’t find it anywhere – does that ever happen to you? It was from a cooking show I loved to watch in the early ‘80s called “What’s Cooking”.  This is the closest thing to that elusive recipe that I could come up with:

½  sweet Onion – chopped

2 cloves garlic – minced

3-4 Tbsp. butter

In a soup pot sauté onions and garlic in butter till just tender and translucent.

Add:

1 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock

1/2 Cup White wine

1-2 Stalks celery – chopped

1-2 large carrots – diced

1-2 potatoes – diced

½ Red pepper – diced

1-2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

Slowly cook till vegetables are tender and stock is slightly reduced

In a separate frying pan poach seafood gently in a bit of chicken broth
I like to use:

1 fillet cod – cut into bite sized pieces

1 fillet salmon – cut into bite sized pieces

1 Cup sea scallops

1 Cup salad shrimp

or

Any combination of sea food you enjoy (approx. 4 Cups)

Once poached - use a slotted spoon to remove and add to the vegetables and stock.  Reduce the poaching stock in frying pan and add to soup.

Thicken the soup with ¼ Cup water and 2 Tbsp. flour if needed or thin with extra chicken stock.

Lower the heat and add a good splash of whipping cream – stirring till warmed through – do not boil.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat and serve immediately or chill if serving en croute.  Can be made a day in advance.

En Croute (this is how we like it the best):

Preheat oven to 400F

Thaw puff pastry according to package directions.  Roll out dough and cut to 1” larger than each soup bowl, keeping everything as cold as possible.  Divide cold soup between 4 oven safe bowls.  Place bowls onto a baking tray.  Brush underside edges of each pastry with an egg wash and place over filled soup bowl – sealing pastry to sides of bowl.  Brush top of pastries with remaining egg wash and put into hot oven.  Bake for 15-20 minutes till pastry puffs and bakes to a golden brown.

This was the perfect soup for a cold April Saturday evening.....

Till next time ....... still hoping for Spring!