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Hearty Seafood Chowder

hearty seafood chowder

My family is a fan of turning left-overs into new meal creations and this seafood chowder is one such dish. This recipe comes straight from my mother’s kitchen. She is a creative cook and this dish is a result of her open mind and zero waste policy.

With BBQ season being in full swing, Dad had made some lovely seafood skewers using scallops; salmon; shrimp; halibut; bacon; and peppers. The leftover BBQ screwers worked perfectly as main features in a lovely chowder for lunch. Using a Lobster Bisque base (I have listed my variation of a Food Network recipe in this post) while adding some left over rice to the seafood medley worked like a charm.

Serve with some fresh bread and a nice Chardonnay it is a sophisticated meal. Who said leftovers were boring.

Hearty Seafood Chowder

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Serves: 6 Prep Time: Cooking Time:

Ingredients

    2. (3) 11/2 lb Lobsters
    4. 1 Tbsp butter
    6. 1 Tbsp Olive oil
    8. 5 Garlic gloves (peeled and smashed)
    10. 3 Carrots (peeled and cut into chunks)
    12. 2 Celery stalks cut into chunks
    14. 1 Medium white onion (peeled and roughly cut)
    16. 1 Tsp salt
    18. 1/2 Tsp pepper
    20. 2 oz  Brandy
    22. 1 cup White wine
    24. 5 1/2 cups  Vegetable stock
    26. 1/4 cup  Tomato paste
    28. 1 Tsp of fresh green pepper corns
    30. 2 Tbsp of Fresh parsley
    32. 2 Fresh sprigs of thyme
    34. 2 Bay leaves
    36. 1 stick butter
    38. 1/2 cut flour
    40. 1 cup Cream
    42. 1/2 Tsp Saffron
    44. 12 Large Bay Scallops
    46. 6 strips of Bacon cut in half
    48. 12 Large Tigar Shrimp with Shells remaining intact
    50. 12 Large pieces of Salmon (about 2 oz each)
    52. 12 Large pieces of Halibut (about 2 oz each)
    54. 1 Yellow pepper
    56. 1 Red pepper
    58. 2 Tsp ginger, minced
    60. 6 Tbsp lime juice, about 2 limes
    62. 4 Tbsp soy sauce, plus 2 more teaspoons
    64. 1 Tsp sesame oil
    66. 2 Tbsp honey
    68. 2 Tsp water
    70. 1/2 Tsp red chili flakes, dried
    72. 1/2 cup  Jasmine Rice
    74. 1 cup Chicken Broth
    76. 1/2 cup Wild Mushrooms (Shiitake) sliced
    78. 1/4 cup Green Onions diced

Instructions

Step one is to make the Lobster Bisque. (If you want, you can use a store bought variety to cut down on time and labor intensity)

Lobster Bisque
  1. In a large pot or dutch oven, add the butter and olive oil. Melt over medium heat. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper. Slowly cook for roughly 6-8 minutes until the vegetables have softened.
  2. Add the brandy and cook until the alcohol has evaporated. Pour in the white wine and cook for another 2 minutes until the liquid has been reduced by half.
  3. Add the Lobsters, vegetable stock, green peppercorns, tomato paste, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves to the pot. Top the pot up with water just until it barely covers the lobster shells. Turn the heat to medium high, partially cover with a lid, and simmer for 1 hour.
  4. Make the Roux in a small separate pot using the flour and butter. Melt butter, add the flour, and stir until turns golden brown, thick, and boasts a nutty fragrance. About 8 minutes.
  5. Using a fine strainer, strain the broth into a medium sized pot. (At this point, before your proceed to the next step, you can freeze this broth to save for later.)
  6. Add the roux, heavy cream, and saffron. Stir and reduce heat. Slowly cook for 20 more minutes until it has reduced and thickened.
  7. Meanwhile, remove the lobster meat from the cooked lobsters. Add to the completed Bisque.

Step Two: BBQ the seafood skewers

Skewers
  1. Preheat your BBQ to medium high heat and spray well with Non stick spray. If you have a Skewer basket use that, otherwise you will just need to place the skewers carefully so the cooked fish does not fall through the grates.
  2. Take the scallops and wrap them with bacon.
  3. Cut the pepper into 2 inch chunks
  4. Assemble the skewers with two of each fish option, two of each pepper, two scallops, two shrimp.
  5. In a small bowl, add the ginger, lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, water, and chilli flakes. Stir to combine.
  6. Place the skewers on the bbq and baste occasionally with the ginger soy sauce.
  7. cook for approximately 10 minutes until the shrimp have turned pink and the fish is flaky. The bacon scallop should be crisp springy.
  8. Do one final baste and remove from BBQ.

Step Three: Make the rice

Rice
  1. Saute the mushrooms in a 1/2 tsp of olive oil. Add the rice, and stir for about 2 minutes to brown the dried rice. This creates a nice nutty flavour.
  2. Add the chicken stock and cook according to package directions.
Final step, the chowder:

Combine the bisque, rice, and seafood from the skewers. Heat over medium heat for about 10 minutes to blend flavours and serve immediately. Enjoy!

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