Seafood chowder
Serves 4- 5
Chowder base:
❚ 125g carrots
❚ 1 200g fennel bulb
❚ 200g white onion
❚ 125g leeks
❚ 125g agria potatoes
❚ 150g celery
❚ 150g unsalted butter
❚ 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg ❚ 1g cayenne pepper
❚ 100g plain flour
❚ 100ml dry white cask wine ❚ 500ml fish stock ❚ 500ml cream
❚ 25ml dry vermouth ❚ 25ml pernod
❚ 1 15g lemon
❚ 5g salt
❚ Pepper to taste
Chop 125g of each vegetable in cubes (about 0.8mm). Chop the rest of the onions, fennel and celery in larger chunks.
Saute only the larger onions, fennel and celery in 125g of butter until soft. Season this mixture, and then add the spices.
Next, add the flour and stir until evenly mixed. Add the white wine and fish stock, and stir again until everything is mixed well.
Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until the flour taste is gone.
Stir often to prevent the flour from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add the cream and bring the mixture to the boil.
Add the vermouth, pernod, lemon juice and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Taste the mixture often and use the amount of each spice listed in the recipe as a guide only – the whole lot may not be needed. Strain this mixture through a fine sieve and set aside.
Next, saute the other cubed vegetables in 25g of butter. Ensure the vegetables still have a little crunch, as they will get softer when the chowder is reheated. Season with salt and pepper.
Add chowder and adjust seasoning if necessary.
To serve:
❚ 5ml canola oil
❚ 20 mussels (4-5 per serving), fresh whole
❚ 20g fresh salmon whole
❚ 30g tube squid
❚ 20g fresh butterfish fillets
❚ 20g scallops
❚ 2 x 20g each prawn cutlet
❚ 30g butter
❚ 25ml pernod
❚ 100ml dry white cask wine, country
❚ 50ml cream ❚ Chowder base
❚ Salt and pepper
❚ 5ml squeezed lemon juice ❚ 5g spring onions
Heat oil in pan and add the mussels, as they need the longest to cook. Next, add salmon, squid, fish, scallop and prawns. Season and saute. Add the butter and pernod. Let the alcohol burn off and add white wine, cream and chowder base. Bring it to the boil and add lemon juice. If necessary adjust seasoning. Plate up and garnish with spring onions.