Whitefish Chowder
CATEGORIES
INGREDIENTS
  • Servings: 10
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 cups of chopped leeks (white and light green part only) or onions
  • 3-4 slices bacon, chopped into pieces
  • 8 T. butter
  • 8 T. flour
  • 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock or Fish stock
  • 2 8-oz bottles of clam juice (If you use fish stock, use an additional 2 cups of fish stock instead of clam juice)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup half & half
  • 1 pound red potatoes, peeled & chopped
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 2 pounds whitefish, skinned & chopped into bite sized pieces
  • Chopped parsley - 1/4 cup or so
  • salt & pepper
DIRECTIONS
  1. Put bacon in the bottom of a big soup pot and cook until medium crisp. Add the leeks or onion and celery and some salt and cook on LOW until soft (leeks can burn easily, so don't turn the heat up too much!) This will take 10 min or so, stirring every once in a while. Add the butter and flour, cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly to make a thick roux. Start adding the liquids slowly, stirring or whisking to incorporate into the roux.
  3. When all the liquid is in, bring to a simmer and add the potatoes, bay leaf, and salt & pepper (to taste). If you're using unsalted stock (like my vegetable stock recipe) you'll need to add a fair bit of salt as you cook, just keep tasting and if it seems bland, add a bit more salt until it doesn't taste bland. Store-bought stock tends to be salty so you probably don't need as much.
  5. Cook until the potatoes are tender, 20-30 min or so. Add the whitefish and parsley, and cook another 15 minutes or so until the whitefish is cooked through. Adjust the seasonings and serve.