Circle B Kitchen
Adapted from Cooking.com
This recipe turns out a little thin (more soup than chowder), so if you’d like yours a little thicker, see my notes at the end of the recipe. I used whole milk, but I’m pretty sure that using half and half or even cream would make this a little thicker. I used cod and it was really wonderful. I also added 12 oz of chopped clams, which I highly recommend.
2 pounds cod, haddock or any firm white fish, bones removed
3 cups cubed russet potatoes
(I added 12 oz of chopped clams)
2 cups hot fish stock or water (I used Snow's bottled clam juice)
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or 2)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (and more for finishing)
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch of ground cloves
1 cup milk or light cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine all ingredients except milk and parsley in a heavy, 4-quart ovenproof soup pot. Cover and bake until fish flakes into pieces and potatoes are tender, about 1 hour.
Transfer soup pot to stovetop. Slowly stir in milk. Simmer gently over low heat until rewarmed, about 5 minutes. Add parsley and a healthy grinding of cracked pepper and serve with fresh, crusty bread.
Note: to thicken the chowder, do not add the butter with the rest of the ingredients. After you take the pot out of the oven, melt the butter and mix it with 2 to 3 tablespoons of flour (depending on how thick you would like it) and 1 ¼ cups of milk. Whisk this into the soup and use the whisk to mash a few of the potatoes. Bring the soup back to a boil and let it simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Remove it from the heat and let it sit for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then stir in your parsley. Taste for salt and pepper. The longer it sits, the thicker it will get. And it's even better the next day.