Jilly and Johnny's Seafood Chow Dah

            In my youth we used to go on epic camping trips. The one that stands out to me even now is when my family rolled down the Oregon coast. Tenting in the rain and reading every Hardy Boys book I could get my hands on, I was nine. There are two food things that stand out in my mind when it came to this trip. The first is getting super sick due to the massive consumption of salt water taffy and the second, and seemingly more profound, is the discovery of chowder. My Uncle John took my cousin and I to this little hole in the wall place that he had heard about in Portland. They had three things on the menu and two of them were chowders. I had my first encounter with New England style clam chowder and fell in love with it. I have been screwing around with recipes for a good chowder for quite a while and finally landed on something that at the very least is close to the memory I have of that place in Portland.

            Joining me on this journey into chowder is my friend and sometime student Jill. Jill and I set out into the world to collect and gather our ingredients for what turned out to be a pretty darn good bowl of soup. Now the recipe that I have come up with is one of those things that is a little fluid when it comes to ingredients, specifically the seafood. What you want is the freshest things you can get. Halibut happens to be in season now so we used that but you can use any sturdy white fish. The clams need to be fresh or omit them completely. I am not a fan of the canned variety. So here we go with Jilly and Johnny’s seafood Chow dah. This is the correct pronunciation of the word Chowder as explained to me by watching the Simpsons. Enjoy.

CHOW DAH

Jilly and Johnny’s Seafood Chow-Dah to the tune of Blunderbuss by Jack White

4 leeks (small dice)

2 ribs celery (small dice)

2 carrots (small dice)

2 potatoes (small dice)

4 cloves of garlic (minced)

¼ cup butter (melted)

4 tbsp flour

500ml 2% milk

500 ml vegetable or fish stock (low sodium)

200g steamer clams

200g uncooked prawns

200g scallops

200g halibut cheek (cut into bite sized pieces)

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

-In a stock pot over medium heat add oil and vegetables and let them sweat down until they are tender. 10-15 minutes. Stir frequently.

-While that is working heat stock in a sauce pan and then using a steamer, par steam your clam so the just start to open up. Remove from heat and reserve the stock.

-Add the butter and the flour to the stock pot and make a roux.... stir it until it is pasty.

-Dump in milk and the reserved stock and whisk until it is smooth and there are no lumps. Reduce the heat to a simmer.

-Add in your halibut and your scallops and let it work for about 20 minutes

-Pop the clams out of the shell and add to the mix with the prawns. Let it work for another 10 minutes or so.

-Taste and season this recipe as you go as it reduces it may get a little salty so a light touch is required at the start. I F’ed up a batch earlier and it was inedible due to salt content... I almost went blind so be careful my people. Serve it up with some biscuits or some crusty bread. It is Major Fantastic. Give it a go.