Soup on Sunday: Seafood Chowder

Yesterday was a cold and rainy Sunday in Houston. I would venture to say it’s a rare occasion, but with the strange weather patterns as of late (and polar vortices), it seems to be more commonplace these days. Originally I was going to make Salmon Chowder (my favorite standby) until I was inspired by the clam, mussel and sausage Étouffée at brunch. So, after leisurely lunch, we made our way to Central Market to pick up clams for our chowder…which lead to the addition of scallops as well. The result was delicious! Enjoy.

1/2 pound new potato, baked, and quartered
2 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 leek, cleaned and thinly sliced (white part only)
1 cup yellow corn (fresh or frozen)
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
3 cups fish stock
2/3 skim milk
4 large salmon fillets, skin discarded and fish cut into 1-inch pieces
1 ½ pounds of littleneck clams
1 pound bay scallops
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Garnish: fresh dilll

Bake potatoes, cool, quarter and set aside. Melt butter in a stockpot over moderate heat and sauté onions, garlic, shallots and leek until translucent. Add corn, thyme, bay leaf, stirring 1 -2 minutes. Add stock and milk and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to moderately low. Add potatoes, salmon, salt, and pepper and cook, gently stirring occasionally, until salmon is just cooked through and begins to break up as you stir, 5 minutes. Add clams and scallops. Cover the pot and cook another 5-8 minutes. Allow the clams enough time to open their shells. Discard bay leaf before serving and garnish with dill or thyme.

Serves 4