Over a week ago, I had the great opportunity to cook for a wonderful couple (Joyce and Mike) from Minneapolis. We planned a fun evening to play Games Against Humanity, and boy what a hoot the evening was!

On the dinner menu along with this Seafood Chowder we had:

• vegan cheese and pate
• kale caesar slaw
• phylo pastry pear tart with cashew cream.

The Verdict of This Seafood Chowder

I was very impressed of the simplistic yet so wonderful tasty broth that I used for the stock of this chowder. This was my first time to use shrimp shells as a stock. And boy they did deliver an A+ job I tell ya. I don’t think I will ever throw away shrimp shells ever again!

Also, this was my first time to cook with monkfish and everyone was impressed with the fish. When I was originally shopping at Wholefoods for all of the ingredients, I asked if I should substitiute monkfish with halibut as I was not sure about using it. The seafood department fella said that I should in fact use monkfish as it is tougher and meatier just like lobster and halibut would not be ideal as it would flake and fall apart in my chowder. I was so happy I took his advise, because monkfish was a superstar of the dish. The fish was definitely meaty, very tasty white fish and held together quite well in the chowder.

And the chowder overall was good as ever, I used the same recipe I have done in the past as I did with my Smoked Salmon Chowder with the addition of the homemade shrimp stock, shrimp. monkfish and scallops.

Seafood Chowder Ingredients

• 200 grams diced Pancetta (or smoked bacon)
• 2 large shallots, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 carrots (approx 1 cup), diced small
• 2 celery (approx 1 cup), diced small
• 1 serano chile, seeded, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper (approx  3/4 cup), diced small
• 1 yellow pepper (approx  3/4 cup), diced small
• 4 medium red potatoes (approx 2.5 – 3 cups), diced small
• 5 cups fish broth (recipe below)
• 1 cup white wine (I used a Chardonnay)
• 3 plum tomatoes, diced small
• 2 cups almond milk
• ¼ teaspoon crushed chilis
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and divined (keep shells for stock)
• 1/2 pound scallops
• 1/2 pound monkfish
• 3 teaspoon chives, finely sliced
• dash of salt and pepper

Shrimp Stock Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• shells from 1 pound large shrimp
• 2 cups yellow onions
• 2 carrots unpeeled and chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup good white wine ( I used a Chardonnay)
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme

Shrimp Stock Instructions:

1. Warm the oil in a stockpot over medium heat.
2. Add the shrimp shells, onions, carrots, and celery and sauté for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.
3. Add the garlic and cook 2 more minutes.
4. Add 1 1/2 quarts of water, the white wine, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
5. Strain through a sieve, pressing the solids. You should have approximately 1 quart of stock. You can make up the difference with water or wine if you need to.

Seafood Chowder Instructions:

1. Cut the seafood into bite sized pieces and put aside in a bowl.
2. In a large pan, sauté pancetta/bacon over medium heat until brown and crisp, approximately 3-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to plate and allow to rest.
3. Add in shallot, garlic, carrot, celery, serano, crushed chile, red & yellow peppers and potatoes. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add in fish broth, 1 cup wine, tomatos, bring to a boil. Add almond milk. Reduce heat,  to medium-low and simmer for at least 15 -25 minutes or till potatoes are semi soft.
5. 10 minutes before serving, bring soup back up to almost boil.
6. Add the seafood (shrimp, scallops, monkfish); reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 7 to 10 minutes, until the fish is just cooked.
7. Add lemon juice, thyme and bacon to pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Ladle soup in bowls
9. Garnish with chives.

Original link on where I got the ideal to incorporate my chowder recipe with seafood and shrimp stock: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/seafood-chowder-recipe.html?oc=linkback