Spending a lot of time at the ocean, I learned to associate the coming of autumn with the heavenly aroma of seafood chowder simmering on the kitchen stove. These days, the ocean is a long drive away – but I don’t let it stop me from making my favorite savory soups when I need a hearty dinner. Instead, I order seafood online so that I always have a ready supply of the freshest catch of the day to fulfill my cravings. I just browse my favorite online seafood stores, order what I want, and have my seafood shipped via next-day air. That way, it’s on hand when I’m ready to start dinner and my family enjoys the same fresh, delicious seafood flavor I grew up enjoying.
Savory seafood chowder is a marvelous choice for a family dinner or for a special occasion crowd. When I want to fancy it up as a special event soup course, I serve it in freshly baked whole grain bread bowls and pair it with a crisp, not-too-sweet white wine – a Sauvignon or Pinot Gris works well. Instead of a typical salad, start the meal with a spinach and orange salad and finish off with poached pears or baked apples for dessert.
Of course, the chowder is the star of the meal, so you want to be sure that it’s absolutely perfect. There’s no one secret to creating a wonderful chowder, but there are a number of factors you have to get just right.
First, fresh seafood is key. Don’t skimp and buy frozen or previously frozen seafood for this – the flavor of your seafood is the single most important element in wonderful chowder. Instead, order seafood from a vendor that always ships their seafood fresh and ready to cook.
If you really want to impress, include fresh lobster in the seafood mix. When you buy lobster online, it will be shipped to you live to ensure that it’s delectably fresh. Frankly, I save the lobster for the really special occasions, not because of the expense but because of the time factor involved. If I don’t have time to cook and crack the lobster, I skip it rather than buy lobster pre-cooked. The difference in flavor is obvious. Once you’ve had seafood chowder made with fresh lobster, you’ll never be happy with canned or frozen lobster meat again.
Even without lobster, you can make luxurious seafood chowder by choosing the most flavorful fish. Buy halibut, haddock, cod or any other firm, white-fleshed fish, and include scallops to add a hint of sweetness.
The most important part of a chowder base is the roux – the mix of fat and flour that thickens the broth and makes it so delicious. Start by rendering your salt pork or bacon and onions together, then remove them from the pot. Add diced potatoes and water and bring them to a boil. Let them cook for about ten minutes. Measure equal parts of butter and flour. In a separate pot, heat the butter until flour sprinkled into it begins to bubble immediately. Add flour a little at a time, whisking it in until the roux forms a thick paste. Continue whisking for about five minutes to let the flour taste cook out of the roux.
Add cold or room temperature half-and-half or cream to the roux a little at a time, whisking each addition in to keep lumps from forming. Once all the cream is incorporated into the roux, turn the heat down and let it simmer for about ten minutes. Pour the cream mixture into the potatoes and add your seafood. Let it simmer over medium heat until the fish flakes easily.
It sounds complicated, but it’s surprisingly easy to make a sumptuous, creamy seafood chowder that will have your family clamoring for you to make it again. Just learn how to make the roux, and remember to order seafood fresh instead of using frozen seafood from the grocer.
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