Smoked Salmon Chowder

Mother Nature's providing us with a superb excuse to cuddle in. We've a nasty storm going on, a double whammy if you will. We hit Newport early yesterday morning for a much needed grocery run, then home to hunker down and wait for the fun to start. Needless to say Big Guy's fishing trip was cancelled as was my day at work, but neither of us were complaining much. Big Guy brought in a few loads of wood and kept the fire going while I spent a good part of the afternoon curled up under a blanket on the sofa with Max and Finnigan and some great reading material. Life is tough isn't it?

We hit the kitchen simultaneously last night and between the two of us, inspired by recipes from several sources including Bon Appetit, Legal Seafoods, and The Best Places Northwest cookbooks along with a little imagination and a lot of chowder making experience, we came up with this rich, creamy and smoky salmon flavored delight. While we used a chunk of our friend Mike's delicious home smoked salmon, I daresay a fillet of fresh salmon would work fine too or even a large can if you must.

Give it a try next time you're housebound on a stormy night and tell me it doesn't warm the cockles of your heart like it did ours.

As for what's happening today, our forecast is "Overcast with a chance of a thunderstorm and rain. Fog early. High of 64F. Windy. Winds from the South at 35 to 50 mph with gusts to 70 mph. Chance of rain 100% with rainfall amounts near 0.9 in. possible." Currently the rain is coming in sideways, the trees are taking a punishment, the waves are awesome and there's no way in the world I'd rather be anywhere else. It's fabulous and I love it!

Smoked Salmon Chowder an original from JBug’s Kitchen

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 large Yukon gold potatoes, diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence

2 tablespoons Knorr Tomato bouillon

1 – 15 ounce can low sodium chicken stock

1/2 cup cold water plus 1 ice cube

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups whole milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

8 ounce fillet smoked salmon, broken into chunks

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Melt butter in a heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and celery and cook until vegetables start to soften. Add potatoes, salt, pepper and herbs de Provence and stir well to incorporate. Add tomato bouillon and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until potatoes are soft. In a small container with a tight fitting lid, mix together water, flour and ice cube. Close container and shake well to make a slurry. Add to soup along with milk and heavy cream. Heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Add smoked salmon and half the parsley. Heat for another minute or two. Serve garnished with parsley. Makes 4 servings.

A year ago - Stroganoff Meatballs

A year ago - Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs with Veggies

Two year's ago - Butternut Squash Galette

Comments

[Lea Callais]

I read that and I thought - well, ain't life grand! Big smile!

[June]

Lea, you're darned right about that. What a fabulous stormy weekend. We enjoyed every second of it.

[Sarah Galvin (All Our Fingers in the Pie)]

Smoked fish chowder has been my favourite since I spent time in Maritime Canada. Looks delicious. Stay snug.

[June]

Thanks Sarah. You too!

[Lorraine]

That was some storm! September is early for gusts of up to 70, but over 100 is common in January until spring. T got me a big piece of salmon and we smoked it while he was home. I still have a piece in the freezer...chowder time!

[June]

Lorraine - Big Guy smoked some too and we'll be digging into it shortly. Sure is nice to have on hand.