The wonderful thing about making seafood chowder at home is that you can use whatever fresh, local (or not-so-local) seafood that is in season. The recipe here is for a delicious vegetable-packed chowder filled with lobster, scallops and haddock. You can easily add shrimp, salmon, or other types of fish in addition to or as a substitute for these. You can even add in mussels, too. The pictures here are of a chowder I made while visiting Nova Scotia. It was filled with fresh, local scallops, lobsters, and haddock fillets.
The Best Homemade Seafood Chowder
Serves 6-8
Saute in a large pot over medium heat for 4-5 minutes:
1/3 cup butter
1/2 onion, diced
2-3 carrots, sliced
dash salt and pepper
Add, and saute, stirring regularly for 5-7 minutes:
1.5 lbs potatoes, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 - 3/4 cups diced fennel bulb
3-4 cloves garlic, minced OR 1/4 - 1/3 cup garlic scapes, sliced (if in season)
Add and cook an additional 1-2 minutes:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2-3 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (adds spiciness, so use less if you prefer less bite)
3-5 dashes Tabasco sauce
1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried oregano
Add, then simmer vegetables for ~7-8 minutes:
~3 cups water (just until top of veggies)
1 tsp GF chicken bouillon seasoning (optional)
Add:
1 cup 10% cream OR milk (lactose-free works great)
Mix in a small bowl:
1/4 cup 10% cream OR milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix
Once you've mixed the flour/cream together, you want to add it a little at a time to the bubbling soup. Stirring and returning soup to a low boil to adjust thickness after you add each 1-2 Tbsp. I prefer a less thick chowder, and so would recommend just a bit being added.
Once you've achieved the desire chowder thickness and returned your soup to a boil over medium heat, add the following and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally:
8 large scallops, diced (or equivalent amount of small scallops)
3 haddock fillets, diced
Taste test the soup at this point to adjust with salt and pepper, as desired. The Old Bay Seasoning has quite a bit of salt, so I usually just add a dash of pepper.
Just before serving, add:
cooked lobster meat from 2 large lobsters, diced (I remove and use the tail, claws, knuckles)
This flavorful seafood chowder is wonderful served alongside garlic bread. A few breads we enjoy eating as garlic bread are: a tasty GF French-Style Bread, GF white bread, GF naan bread, and homemade GF sourdough bread.
In my opinion, the perfect accompaniment to a fresh seafood chowder and garlic bread dinner is a homemade apple crisp. If you can find Cortland apples, you'll truly be in heaven. Enjoy!
Wonderfully delicious homemade seafood chowder, packed with lobster, haddock and scallops. This version is packed with vegetables, too, and packed with flavor.
The Best Homemade Seafood Chowder
Serves 6-8
Saute in a large pot over medium heat for 4-5 minutes:
1/3 cup butter
1/2 onion, diced
2-3 carrots, sliced
dash salt and pepper
Add, and saute, stirring regularly for 5-7 minutes:
1.5 lbs potatoes, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 - 3/4 cups diced fennel bulb
3-4 cloves garlic, minced OR 1/4 - 1/3 cup garlic scapes, sliced (if in season)
Add and cook an additional 1-2 minutes:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2-3 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (adds spiciness, so use less if you prefer less bite)
3-5 dashes Tabasco sauce
1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried oregano
I like to saute the vegetables for a longer period in the pan, then they can simmer for less time in order to really bring out the flavors and taste.
Add, then simmer vegetables for ~7-8 minutes:
~3 cups water (just until top of veggies)
1 tsp GF chicken bouillon seasoning (optional)
Add:
1 cup 10% cream OR milk (lactose-free works great)
Mix in a small bowl:
1/4 cup 10% cream OR milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix
Once you've mixed the flour/cream together, you want to add it a little at a time to the bubbling soup. Stirring and returning soup to a low boil to adjust thickness after you add each 1-2 Tbsp. I prefer a less thick chowder, and so would recommend just a bit being added.
Here's the chowder after being thickened a bit. I prefer a just barely thickened creamy soup to the thick chowders sometimes served. In this picture the soup is ready for seafood to be added.
Once you've achieved the desire chowder thickness and returned your soup to a boil over medium heat, add the following and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally:
8 large scallops, diced (or equivalent amount of small scallops)
3 haddock fillets, diced
Taste test the soup at this point to adjust with salt and pepper, as desired. The Old Bay Seasoning has quite a bit of salt, so I usually just add a dash of pepper.
Just before serving, add:
cooked lobster meat from 2 large lobsters, diced (I remove and use the tail, claws, knuckles)
This flavorful seafood chowder is wonderful served alongside garlic bread. A few breads we enjoy eating as garlic bread are: a tasty GF French-Style Bread, GF white bread, GF naan bread, and homemade GF sourdough bread.
In my opinion, the perfect accompaniment to a fresh seafood chowder and garlic bread dinner is a homemade apple crisp. If you can find Cortland apples, you'll truly be in heaven. Enjoy!
A homemade GF apple crisp made with local Cortland apples - yum!
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