When I was growing up, there was a belief that if your meal was
colorful, it was well balanced.
When you think about it, the idea had some merit… imagine sweet
potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, and a serving of protein together on a plate.
Pretty balanced, right?
Alternatively, you could also serve that same plate heaped with
Gummy Bears and meet the color wheel requirements. Yet you would fail miserably
on the balanced-diet front.
Which reminds me of a scene in Romy and Michele’s High School
Reunion.
Michele: Did you lose weight?
Romy: Actually, I have been trying this new fat free diet I
invented.
All I’ve had to eat for the past six days are gummy bears,
jelly
beans, and candy corns.
Michele: God, I wish I had your discipline.
Today’s chowder is a perfect example of when the concept of
colorful food fails… in a good way. It is filled with ingredients that are
good for you (ignore the salt pork and butter, okay?) making for a hearty meal
with almost no color at all.
“Ayuh,” as we often
heard pronounced over steaming bowl of white chowder when we lived in Maine, this
is “wicked good.”
Cod Chowder
2 ounces salt pork, diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cups sliced leeks, from
3 large leeks
1/2 cup dry
white wine
2 cups fish or seafood stock
½ pound fingerling potatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
leaves from 6 sprigs thyme
2 cups half-and-half
10 ounces cod, or other white fish, cut into 2-inch chunks
Place a 4-quart stockpot over medium heat at add the salt pork.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until it is golden and has rendered its fat. Add
the butter and leeks; continue cooking over medium heat until the leaked have
softened but are not browned.
Add the wine, stock, potatoes, and thyme, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are fork tender. About 12-15 minutes. Add
the half-and-half and fish; bring to a boil, then reduce once again to a
simmer. Cook until the fish flakes, but is not falling apart – about 5-8
minutes.
Served in heated bowls with bread and a salad.
Serves 4.
Note: While Tucson isn’t really close to the ocean, we are lucky to have a source for cod and salmon – White Cane Sockeye Salmon. Randy Houghton and his son, Ian (who happens to hold a PhD in piano performance), can be found at our Tucson Heirloom Farmers Markets selling fish that Randy catches in Alaska, then vacuum packs and freezes for sale at the market.
magda
April 15, 2017 at 5:26 pmI've never had this soup before. Sounds and looks beautiful David! 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
April 17, 2017 at 2:30 pmIt is very popular here in the States, Magda – mostly in coastal regions with good fish!
Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things
April 15, 2017 at 11:25 pmSounds delicious, David. Happy Easter to you and Mark xxx
Cocoa & Lavender
April 17, 2017 at 2:30 pmThanks, Liz – to you and Peter, as well.
Nutmeg
April 15, 2017 at 11:34 pmIt looks delicious! Who needs colour?
Cocoa & Lavender
April 17, 2017 at 2:31 pmI know, right? I had a friend when I was young who only ate white food. I thought it was just kids but apparently there are many adults who suffer (and I mean suffer, Carolyne!) without color!
Sippity Sup
April 16, 2017 at 12:14 amHow did you know I had a plate heaped with Gummy Bears sitting in front of me right now? GREG
Cocoa & Lavender
April 17, 2017 at 2:32 pmCall me psychotic, Greg. (Or is that psychic? I am probably both, so….)
Lois B
April 16, 2017 at 4:44 amI love that you can quote Romy and Michele!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 17, 2017 at 2:32 pmI love anybody who loves Romy & Michele, Lois!
Gerlinde de Broekert
April 16, 2017 at 5:58 amGreat looking chowder David , it would be perfect with German Speck. Happy Easter to you and your loved ones.
Cocoa & Lavender
April 17, 2017 at 2:32 pmSpeck is perfect with this, Gerlinde, and I have used it often for chowders!
Unknown
April 16, 2017 at 2:54 pmI love these one-pot meals.
I must look up the definition of "chowder": are there limits? for instance, could I add other vegetables, like fennel or seafood, like mussels? … and still be called a chowder?
I might be wrong, but I think that chowder have disappeared here in England, as part of their fish repertoire, which is odd, considering their Anglo-French origins
in Italy, fish soups have lost the vegetables along the way, during centuries…and now they comprise mostly of fish only (actually, now that I think of it, there baccalà (sold cod) and potatoes…, still an unusual fish dish)
…happy easter, of course – stefano
Cocoa & Lavender
April 17, 2017 at 2:39 pmCiao, Stefano – it still does exist in the British Isles, but usually under another name – such as Cullen Skink in Scotland (I've never made it – the name has always turned me off 🙂 – but it is definitely more popular here. There are all variety of fish and seafood chowders, vegetable chowders, and such. I have never seen a meat or poultry chowder, though, cream of chicken soup is nothing more than a chicken chowder. Fennel shows up a lot in red chowders (tomato based, with no cream) although I think it would be brilliant in a creamy chowder. Fennel makes almost anything better…
Stoccafisso can be used for soups, right? But they still seem different than this.
I hope you both had a wonderful Easter – ours was spent at the airport and on planes following a family wedding. Not the optimal Easter, but at least we were together!
Cheri Savory Spoon
April 17, 2017 at 12:14 amHi David, this chowder does look wicked good, will be making this once we get settled in Oregon, still have to get there right lol. Anyway Happy Easter!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 17, 2017 at 2:40 pmYou will have some great fish and seafood choices up there, Cheri – when do you leave?? Must be hard, but when you have the beauty of Oregon waiting, it softens the blow…
Unknown
April 17, 2017 at 3:44 pmThis dish looks great, David. My mum used to cook something like it: baccalà (salted, dried cod) con patate. She sometimes addes olives. I have to do it one day or another… Ciao ciao, ANna
Cocoa & Lavender
April 19, 2017 at 6:11 pmAnna – the baccalà con patate sounds wonderful. It reminds me of a Portuguese dish called baccalà a braz, which has both potatoes and olives. I love that, although it isn't a soup.
Colette (Coco)
April 18, 2017 at 11:21 pmI love cod.
Shawn doesn't.
This will change his mind.
xo
Cocoa & Lavender
April 19, 2017 at 6:12 pmIt may not change his mind, Colette, but it is worth a try!
All That I'm Eating
April 20, 2017 at 10:06 amI love chowder! It's one of my favourite dishes and yours looks lovely.
Cocoa & Lavender
April 22, 2017 at 10:40 pmThanks, Caroline – do you see much chowder in the UK?
Susan Manfull
April 20, 2017 at 8:05 pmThere is a chill in the air here in New England, making a bowl of hot chowder sound so good. I have never made it with wine–it sounds particularly inviting!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 22, 2017 at 10:41 pmI hope your weather has warmed up now, Susan!
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
April 21, 2017 at 8:56 pmOooo, love your timing. I have "use up some shrimp stock" on my to do list (I am running out of clean pyrex) and have been dreading having to find a recipe. Thank you, thank you!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 22, 2017 at 10:41 pmAbsolutely my pleasure, Inger – I hope you enjoy it!
Ngeun
April 24, 2017 at 11:03 amHi David, this cod chowder looks/sounds wonderful! So flavourful and comforting, and I personally like the colours in it – very elegant. Cynthia loves fish so looking forward to making this for both of us. Thanks for introducing me to half and half. Not sure if I can find it in Oz though.
Cocoa & Lavender
April 24, 2017 at 1:38 pmThanks, Ngeun – half and half is a a 50/50 combination of whole milk and whole cream – very easy to concoct yourself at home! I hope you and Cynthia enjoy it. Have a great day!
John | heneedsfood
April 25, 2017 at 12:52 pmI ate my share of chowders while Dean and I travelled through New England several years ago, but none of them looked as good and plentiful as yours, David!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 25, 2017 at 2:04 pmI would be curious to know, John if the chowders you found in New England were thick and stodgy. They have become that way for the tourist trade – thickened with flour – and it would infuriate my mother.
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
April 27, 2017 at 10:04 pmDavid, with those ingredients, I'll happily forego color. Carefully sourced fish, along with some of my all-time favorite ingredients, in a one-dish meal. Perfect.
Cocoa & Lavender
April 28, 2017 at 1:06 pmI am so grateful we can get good Alaskan fish here in Tucson! And you are right – who needs color!?
Inger at Art of Natural Living
May 15, 2017 at 5:21 pmI had a few pieces of cod left from my CSA and just made this, David. Absolutely loved it. Pure flavors that came together perfectly (even after cheating some to use what I had on hand). BTW, I did manage some color with "rainbow" fingerlings that included purple 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
May 19, 2017 at 1:27 pmWhat a great idea to add the color with potatoes! So glad you liked it, Inger!
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
May 16, 2017 at 11:49 amOops, make that my CSF 🙂