Ingredients
The fish
- 400 gsmoked haddock
- undyed if you can find it
- 400 gwhite fish
- cod, hake or pollock
- 300 gmussels, cleaned
- 200 gprawns, peeled
The base
- 2onions, chopped
- 2leeks, sliced
- 3celery sticks, diced
- 600 gpotatoes, diced
- 60 gbutter
- 2 tablespoonsplain flour
The liquid
- 600 mlfish stock
- or the mussel liquor
- 400 mlwhole milk
- 200 mlcream
- 2bay leaves
- a few sprigs thyme
To finish
- chopped parsley
- chopped chives
- black pepper
- brown soda bread
- to serve
Directions
- Discard it if it does not close. Discard any with cracked shells. Discard any that feel unusually heavy. Discard any that smell at all wrong. Cooked mussels should open up. Taste before adding any salt at all. It often needs none whatsoever.
- Keep it below a simmer once dairy is in. Rinse the mussels under cold water. Rinse away all the sand and weed. Do it in a bowl of cold water. Lift them out rather than pouring. Pull the beard off each mussel.
- Pull it firmly toward the hinge. They do not live long after that. Check every mussel individually. It should close within a moment. Discard it if it does stay open. Discard any with broken shells.
- Steam the mussels in a covered pot. Add a splash of water or wine. Cover it and cook on high heat. Give them about four full minutes. Shake the pot once or twice over. Strain it and keep it entirely. Strain it through a fine cloth. Strain it genuinely carefully.
- Pick the mussels out of their shells. Keep a few in shell for the top. Melt the butter in a heavy pot. Add the onion, leek and celery. Cook them for about twelve minutes. They should soften without browning. Use a low heat and a tight lid. Stir them occasionally as they sweat.
- Stir the flour into the vegetables. Cook it out for two full minutes. Stir it constantly as it cooks. Add the stock gradually while stirring. Add it in a ladleful at a time. Stir it smooth before the next. Those lumps never break down again.
- Flour and liquid lump instantly. Gradual addition prevents that. Whisk rather than stirring if needed. Take a good few minutes over it. Add the diced potato and the herbs. Dice the potato small and even. About one centimetre is right.
- Simmer it until the potato is tender. Give it about fifteen minutes. Crush a few against the pot side. Stir in the milk and the cream. Never let it boil after they go in. Keep it just below a proper simmer. It should steam rather than bubble. Add the white fish first of all. Give it about four full minutes. Cut it into large chunks first.
- Add the smoked haddock after that. Give it about three minutes only. Add the prawns for the last two minutes. Two full minutes is quite enough. Stir the cooked mussels in at the end. They only need warming through. Lift a piece of fish out to look. It should flake apart at a fork.
- Taste it and season very carefully. Taste before adding any at all. It often needs none whatsoever. Add plenty of black pepper to it. Grind it fresh if you possibly can.
- Stir chopped parsley and chives in. Add the herbs in right at the end. They wilt down in the hot soup. Keep some back to scatter on top. Serving it is always done hot. Ladle it into deep warm bowls. Brown soda bread is the partner. It needs no rising time at all.
Technique
- Live mussels must be alive when cooked. Tap any open one firmly against the sink — it should close within a moment, and one that stays open is dead and must be discarded, along with any cracked, any unusually heavy (usually full of sand) and any that smell wrong. After cooking, the standard advice is to discard any that stayed shut; a shut one may simply be stubborn, but the atlas gives the cautious advice as the safer of the two.
- This carries fish, crustaceans and molluscs, which are separate allergies — someone may react to prawns but not mussels, or to shellfish but not fish. Say clearly what is in the pot.
- Never let it boil once the milk and cream are in, since dairy splits into grains and ruins the texture — it should steam rather than bubble. Add the seafood only at the very end, in order: white fish for four minutes, smoked haddock for three, prawns for two and cooked mussels for one, since each cooks at a different rate and all toughen and fall apart if overcooked.
Substitutions
- Undyed smoked haddock is the better choice, since the bright yellow dye adds nothing but colour; it is genuinely salty and carries that salt into the soup, so taste before adding any at all — it often needs none.
- Strain the mussel liquor through a fine cloth and use it in the chowder, since it is intensely flavoured — but strain it carefully, since sand in a chowder is unpleasant.
Variations
- Sweat the vegetables gently under a lid without browning them, since a chowder should taste sweet and clean where browned vegetables taste caramelised — that is a different soup entirely.
- Add the stock a ladleful at a time to the floured vegetables, stirring smooth before the next: flour and liquid lump instantly and those lumps never break down. Crushing a few cooked potato pieces against the pot side thickens it further.
- Debeard the mussels close to cooking, since pulling the beard damages them and they do not live long afterwards — do it within the hour. Keep a few in their shells for the top of the bowl and shell the rest for easy eating.
History
The name comes from the French chaudière cooking pot, carried between Atlantic fishing communities; Irish versions lean on smoked haddock and mussels.
Frequently asked questions
What is Seafood chowder?
Seafood chowder is a soup & stew from Ireland: creamy fish and shellfish soup with brown soda bread. The name comes from the French chaudière cooking pot, carried between Atlantic fishing communities; Irish versions lean on smoked haddock and mussels.
How long does Seafood chowder take to make?
Seafood chowder takes 30 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Seafood chowder?
Yes, within limits. Undyed smoked haddock is the better choice, since the bright yellow dye adds nothing but colour; it is genuinely salty and carries that salt into the soup, so taste before adding any at all — it often needs none. Strain the mussel liquor through a fine cloth and use it in the chowder, since it is intensely flavoured — but strain it carefully, since sand in a chowder is unpleasant.
What is the most important thing to get right in Seafood chowder?
Keep it below a simmer once dairy is in. Rinse the mussels under cold water. Rinse away all the sand and weed. Do it in a bowl of cold water. Lift them out rather than pouring. Pull the beard off each mussel.
