Great Canadian Food Experience: My Cherished Canadian Recipe for East Coast Fish Chowder
I’ve written about fish chowder before but as it really is my cherished Canadian recipe I’m revisiting it as this month’s contribution to the Great Canadian Food Experience Project. One of the hardest things about having to drastically change your diet is suddenly all your favourite recipes fall out of rotation. Sure you want to tweak it to make it work for your family again, but it’s hard to find time to experiment or research when what you really need to do is put dinner on the table.
I’ve taken this months Canadian Food Experience as a challenge to “fix” my family’s cherished fish chowder recipe. It’s pretty great as it is but that can of evaporated milk that generations of my mother’s family have been using to feed their babies and make chowder with just wasn’t agreeing with us anymore.
Onions 1 per serving (I do 6)
Potatoes 1 per serving (6 again)
Fish that starts with H (Halibut, Haddock)
2 tablespoons of Butter or olive oil
1 Bay Leaf
Sea Salt & Ground Pepper
Boiling water
Corn 1 cob
1 cup of whole milk
1/2 cup large leaf parlsey
1/2 cup Dulse
Prepare by putting your tea kettle on to boil. We’ll be adding all the ingredients into a thick bottomed soup pot.
Start by frying up finely chopped onions in butter or olive oil.
Cook them gently on medium heat until they are transparent.
Chop your fish up into 1 inch cubes. Throw it in on top of your cooked onions.
Next, slice up your potatoes and throw them in.
Cover with the now boiling water from your kettle and add salt, pepper and a bay leaf.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for 25 minutes. Keep your pot simmering while you add the final ingredients.
Now add your corn and one cup of whole milk. Turn off the heat, stir and wait five minutes before stirring.
Add a bit of chopped large leaf parlsey and a handful of chopped dulse as a garnish.
We used to serve chowder with bread but now in our post-gluten house we’re enjoying salad made with greens and petals from Kind Organics. Check out Kind Organic’s Farm Raiser, like another small agriculture business I know, they’ve out grown their space and are looking to grow on their own farm. Here’s the link: http://kindorganics.com/farm-raising/
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What a great recipe! I had debated sharing my grandfather’s fish chowder recipe for this month’s challenge (molasses cookies won out), and it’s very similar to this, although he never garnished it with dulse.
I have a mollasses cookie recipe that I dream about. Molasses bread too, made with bacon fat. Now I need to go eat molasses.
Wow, does this ever look delicious. I can’t stay away from seafood, if it’s in front of me.
That sounds amazing. But I am wondering… if the evaporated milk causes problems, wouldn’t whole milk do the same?
I’ve also had luck with goat’s milk. I think the thickeners in the canned stuff were not agreeing with us.
Now I am so mad that I gave away the rest of the incredible and so special Bay of Fundy Dulce I had left from the Slow Food in Canada conference as there won’t be any dulce to find around these prairie parts. I cannot WAIT to try to make this recipe – though must say that any gorgeous fish is such a prairie delicacy, it is close to blasphemy to cook it into a soup. That being said, do you really leave it in with the potatoes to boil away for 25 minutes? Just wondering what would happen if you would add the fish later, until just cooked… but, I guess, as this is a traditional, and cherished recipe, this is the way to make it – and who am I to buck tradition. Particularly one I have zero knowledge about. Clam chowder I know. Made that and love it, lots… with canned or frozen clams. Never fresh. So, you can see I am tickled that you wrote about this – will be looking for the answers to my question and cannot wait to try it… is there a fish that was your family fav? Also, quite surprised to see the potatoes sliced in full rounds in a soup – looks more stew like. Is that how it is?
So excited you are participating in The Canadian Food Experience Project! Look what I am learning!
Big hug,
Valerie
I can’t believe I hadn’t read your blog before now. Only 2 posts in & it’s already my new favourite. Gorgeous recipe. I had chowder for the first time in Tasmania a week ago. Loved. Can’t wait to try your recipe x
This looks and sounds fantastic! All I need now is some fresh Hali. Thanks for sharing.