Creamy Seafood Chowder - A Seafood Lovers' Happy Place

I first tasted seafood chowder at Kona Cafe in the Polynesian Resort Hotel at Disney World. I fell in love with it. I managed to get the recipe which no longer exists on the Disney website and the chowder is no longer on the menu at the restaurant.

Even though I have the recipe, I don't seem to be able to duplicate it in a small portion. So on occasion, I try something similar. This recipe is a take on all recipes I have ever tried. It is really good and will finally be the one I make from now on. I am the only seafood lover in the house so it is always a challenge to make enough but not too much.

Ingredients (this yielded about 4 good adult portions):

1 shredded carrot
1 medium size potato shredded
1/2 a small cubed celery
1/2 a small cubed onion
2 tablespoons finely diced bacon
3 very thickly sliced cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon dry oregano, thyme, basil ...note less perhaps to taste and maybe not oregano
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sherry
1/2cup cream
1 cup milk
Freshly chopped parsley for garnish
1 cup vegetable broth - chicken or fish broth also a good idea
Salt and pepper to taste - I add a fair amount of salt because it is seafood and needs the boost
12 shrimp - if cooked add last 5 minutes
2 5oz pieces of cod, cubed

Method:

Fry the bacon till the fat is rendered and the bacon is cooked and a little brown, I don't like soggy bacon in my chowder, but neither do I want it burned which will change the color of the white chowder.

Add the vegetables and fry until softened. I wanted to make the cooking time shorter for these vegetables which is why I shredded them where possible, and if you can't shred them then make sure they are all the same size and remember the cooking time will need to be adjusted accordingly.

Add the herbs. I would suggest you add fewer herbs than I did, and perhaps not the oregano. My Chef instructor said oregano is for Pizza and that's it. Perhaps a teaspoon of each if its a dried herb, if it is fresh add away.

I added the butter and the flour at this point so that I would have the roux start to build. I added the sherry first and cooked off the alcohol ( be careful, add it off heat ). Then I added the milk and the broth and cooked the vegetable mixture for half an hour till they were all soft and cooked, in the meantime the sauce also thickened. If the sauce is not as thick as you like you can make a Beurre Manie ( a flour and butter combination, I'll add the link below ) and add a little along the way to thicken to your liking. I added two one inch balls as I went along. Stir intermittently. Add the cream at the end just before you add the seafood. Taste for salt and pepper.

The white fish will likely take 10 minutes to cook, and the shrimp 5 minutes. So add the white fish and after 5 minutes add the shrimp. After 5 minutes, turn off the simmering thick seafood-laden sauce. Make sure to test the fish for doneness.

Link to Beurre Manie: https://www.saveur.com/article/Techniques/saveur-100-beurre-manie

Now please keep adaptation in mind when cooking, Everything is a creative pursuit, make this recipe yours. Add the type of fish you like. I had cod and I had shrimp. If I had scallops or crab or lobster I would have added that too.

~ Hugs From Mum