Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Tana Ramsay's Fish Chowder

I cooked last night for the first time in forever! After having my apartment beautifully cleaned last week I was looking forward to getting back in the kitchen, especially after perusing The Times' food section and spotting Tana Ramsay's fish chowder recipe in a life swap challenge (Gordon picks up and cooks dinner for the kids; Tana runs Claridge's). I'd been wanting to make chowder all winter and this recipe appealed because it looked so easy and delicious. And - it was. It's also a one-pot wonder which I love.

You'll find her recipe in the link but here is my adaptation (serves 2-3):

3 medium potatoes, diced into bite size pieces
1 leek, sliced
6 rashers of good bacon, sliced into thin strips (I used AC Butchery and it was divine)
500mL chicken stock (I tried one of those premium chicken stocks in the fridge section, it was expensive but excellent quality)
2 fillets of your favourite, firm fish, cut into bite size pieces (I used snapper and monkish)
Handful of frozen peas
A generous pour of double cream


Boil the potatoes until a little underdone (seriously, this is important. Because they are such small pieces they only take a few minutes. I forgot and the potatoes were soft in the soup, which you may like). Drain, return the pot to the heat and add some olive oil. Add the bacon and cook until slightly crispy. Add the leeks and cook gently until they turn soft. Add the stock and potatoes, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the fish and peas and simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the fish is cooked. Stir in the cream and bring to the simmer, then turn the heat off. Season, and stir through a handful of chopped parsley. Serve with crusty sourdough.

Note: A nice alternative is to add smoked fish along with fresh fish, or a few scallops or prawns.


Fish chowder = goodness

4 Comments:

Blogger TessaJ said...

Yum. That sound delish. I'll be sure to try that this winter!

2:55 PM  
Blogger Sarah said...

oh. my. god that sounds like exactly what i need right now.

shame i'm so broke - must remind myself to cook that when I'm fiscal again!

4:30 PM  
Blogger Julia said...

And I don't feel guilty eating in on these overcast days!

Sarah, I'm expecting you to get creative with pasta! Plus you can't beat the chili-garlic-olive oil pasta, best thing ever.

4:53 PM  
Blogger Sarah said...

last night we had a BBQed lamb sandwich - backstrap, turkish bread, hummous, tomato and parsely. Total cost about $7 for the two of us.

2:36 PM  

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