Keep Warm with Fish and Potato Chowder

OK, the winter is upon us and nothing is better than soup in the winter to keep warm, well that and a little shot of "what-not", anyway I made this "chowdah" and it is really tasty and fairly simple. This is great with my Garlic-Cheddar Bay Biscuits all slathered with butter. I will include that recipe too!

You'll find that this soup is similar to a New England Clam Chowder and you could actually use this as a base for that. You can leave the fish out and add more potatoes and have a savory potato soup. Get creative and swap out the fish for lump crab meat, peeled and cleaned crawfish tails, or even oysters. There is no limit to what you can do with this soup. Have fun and keep each other warm.

Fish and Potato Chowder

1 lb fish filets
2 cups red potatoes (small dice)
1 stalk celery (thin sliced)
2 cups onions (small dice)
3 - 4 cloves of garlic (minced fine)
5 green onions (sliced thin)
4 - 5 cups water
1 chicken stock cube
2 cups milk
¼ stick butter
2 tbs plain flour
2 tbs olive oil
¼ cup sour cream
½ tsp each black pepper and sea salt
1 tbs Tony Chachere's
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp cayenne
2 bay leaves
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tbs minced parsley

In a med size pot, bring the water up to a boil, add the stock cube and the potatoes and cook for about 10 - 15 mins until potatoes are done. Keep warm. In a larger stock pot, melt the butter, add the olive oil, and sauté the onions, garlic, celery and green onions all together. Add the bay leave and all the spices. Cook for about 10 mins or until onions are softened.

Add the flour and stir for about 5 - 6 mins until flour starts to brown a bit. Now bring the potatoes and stock water up to temp again and pour into the other pot with the veggies. Stir well to dissolve the flour roux you've made. Bring up to a boil and add the milk and sour cream, stirring well to dissolve the sour cream. Now add the fish which has been diced into small bite sized pieces, stir well. Turn down to MED, cover, and let cook for about an hour, stirring occaisionally to insure its not scorching and sticking to the bottom of the pot.

I like serving this with some old fashioned saltine crackers and a little hot sauce. In the picture you'll notice I have added a dried red pepper. This added a small amount of heat, but I took it out before storing it in the fridge. This is an amazing soup I'd like for you to try. As for fish to use, you can use catfish, cod, flounder, talapia, or haddock, all very mild and tasty. I buy a mild white fish at WalMart that I really like called Swai, it's a Vietnamese Catfish and is WONDERFUL! Very tasty and mild. Be sure to use about 3 of these filets, about 6 oz. each and individually wrapped and frozen. Thaw them in the sealed wrapper in a sink of warm water. About 5 mins.

Garlic-Cheddar Bay Biscuits Recipe

1 ¼ cup biscuit mix
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
½ cup milk
½ stick butter
¼ tsp garlic salt
¼ tsp dried parsley flakes

Preheat the oven to 400º Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Combine the biscuit mix and cheese in a bowl. Add the milk and stir just until combined. The dough will be slightly moist. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the biscuits are firm and beginning to brown.

While the biscuits are baking, make the garlic butter. In a small microwave or on the stove, melt the butter, add the garlic salt, and parsley flakes. Mix well. As soon as you bring the biscuits from the oven, brush them with the garlic butter using a pastry brush.

Enjoy these two wonderful recipes on those cold winter nights to ease the chill.

RouxBDoo