Fish Chowder

 

We're at a funny time of year here in England. The days are getting longer and everywhere there are signs of summer, but temperatures have been quite cool in recent weeks. My body is telling me though that it's time for eating lighter foods - chicken, and fish, and loads of salads. But the cool evenings tell me it's still a time for soups and stews and other warming foods.

I decided to listen to both these internal messages and made a delicious seafood chowder for our dinner one night.

I like dishes that are versatile - ones that can be altered to fit what is in season, and what is in your fridge, and that can be put together without a lot of fuss and bother. This recipe ticks all my boxes.

You too can cook up this seafood chowder in under 30 minutes.

Seafood Chowder

Ingredients:

2 rashers smoked streaky bacon, chopped (or 100gm lardons)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 pints chicken or vegetable stock
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 pack fish pie mix (an assortment of cod, haddock, and salmon pieces)
1 bay leaf
1 pack seafood mix (prawns, mussels, and squid)
Seasonal vegetables, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces



1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 generous dash Tabasco sauce
1 pint milk
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Cut the bacon into pieces and cook until browned in a heavy-bottomed pot  (I recommend the SKK stew pot)
2. Add a tablespoon of olive oil if needed, then add the chopped onions and carrots and cook until softened. 
3. Now pour in the 2 pints stock and bring up to a boil.
4. Add the diced potatoes and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to a simmer, add in the fish and the bay leaf and let it cook for 5 minutes. 
6. Add the pre-cooked mixed seafood and let simmer a further 5 minutes. 
7. Reduce the heat and add in the remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
8. Bring up to heat without boiling before serving. (Boiling milk can cause it to curdle, especially if you are using fat-free)

Serve with crusty bread and butter or oyster crackers, if desired. 

Seasonal vegetables: The image I have used has corn as it's vegetable and that is a very traditional addition to many chowders. This time I happened to use green beans and asparagus because that is what was in my fridge, but the next time I may use something completely different.

Fish and seafood: Likewise, you can use any fish to make this dish. I happen to buy the fish pie packs because they are cheaper but also provide a bit more variety than buying a whole fillet of a single fish.

This recipe made 4 generous servings.


Above image by Rootology (Own work by uploader (cooking by uploader, too)) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Cooking Kedgeree

A traditional British kedgeree

Kedgeree is one of many traditional British foods that had its origins in India and entered the British food menu during the colonial Victorian Age at a time when Anglo-Indian cuisine was fashionable. It is also, traditionally, a breakfast food made by using up leftovers from the evening before. I think it makes a good evening meal as well.

A "real" kedgeree also traditionally uses smoked haddock and no other fish. I improvise by adding mixed seafood and a selection of fish.

The other night, my youngest son asked if we could have seafood risotto for dinner. I didn't have any risotto rice however, so I created my version of a kedgeree instead.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices bacon, cut into pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 2 sliced leeks
• 1/2 savoy cabbage, chopped
• 1 cup brown rice
• 300gm smoked fish (I use a pre-packed mix of smoked cod, haddock, and salmon)
• 150gm mixed seafood (again a pre-packed mix of prawns, squid, and mussels)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 pinch chilli flakes
• 1/8 - 1/2teaspoon chilli powder (to taste)
• 500ml vegetable stock
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, diced
• salt and pepper to taste

Method: 

1. I started by trimming the cabbage and leek. I then used these trimmings along with a couple small carrots to make a quick and simple vegetable stock. To save time, and washing up, I added the two eggs to the pot of water while it was simmering to give me my hard-boiled eggs. 
2. Heat the olive oil in a deep stew pot, add the bacon and cook until just beginning to crisp. Add in the prepared onion, leek, and cabbage. Add in a couple ladles of stock, then leave to simmer for about 5 - 10 minutes until the vegetables are all softened. 
3. Add in the rice and spices and stir to get everything combined. Pour in half the stock. Bring it up to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. 
4. Add in the fish and seafood, then let it simmer another 10 minutes. 
5. Taste and adjust seasoning and heat as desired. 
6. Just before serving, peel and quarter the hard-boiled egg and stir into the dish. 

It can be eaten hot, or cold. I made up extra and packed the leftovers away for my lunch today.

As as evening meal, kedgeree remains a good way of using up any leftovers from the night before. You can add any vegetables you want along with bite-size pieces of any leftover chicken, fish, or pork. 

If you're looking for a more traditional kedgeree recipe, why not try this one from Delia Smith.

What on Earth Can I Do With Quinoa

Raw quinoa

Quinoa, pronounced 'keen-wah', has come to prominence in recent years as one of the much touted "super-foods". When I talk about using it in cooking though, I am still met with people telling me they have no idea what they're supposed to do with it.You'd be amazed at just how versatile and simple this little tiny grain can be to prepare.

 The plant, closely related to tumbleweeds, was first grown in the Andes of South America over 3000 years ago.  Technically, quinoa is a pseudocereal as it is not a type of grass. It is a member of the Amaranthaceae family, is high in protein, and is gluten free.

Thanks for the botany lesson, but what can I do with it?

If you can cook rice, you can cook quinoa. Actually, even if you can't cook rice you will be able to cook quinoa as it is a bit more forgiving than rice. 30 grams raw quinoa makes an 80gm serving.

30gm raw = 80gm cooked

To cook quinoa:

1. Bring a pot of liquid to boil. 
2. Pour in the quinoa. 
3. Leave it along to boil for about 5 - 7 minutes. 
4. Drain.

Note: The instructions on the packet say to cook for over 10 minutes but I have always found that it is cooked within 7 minutes.

Once cooked, you can do just about anything with quinoa. Practically any dish that can be made or served with rice can substitute quinoa.

How do I know it's cooked?

There are two ways to know that quinoa is cooked.

1. You can taste it. The grains will be soft with a very slight bit of texture when chewing. 
2. You can look at it. When quinoa cooks, tiny rings detach from the outer edges grains. Spoon a

   

   Red quinoa with visible rings

   few out from the simmering water, if you see these little circles chances are very likely that it has been cooked enough.

4 Things to Do with Quinoa

Breakfast Quinoa

1 serving

• Add a chopped apple to 1 pint water and bring to a boil. 
• Add in 30gm uncooked quinoa and let simmer until done. 
• Drain. 
• Sprinkle over a bit of sugar or honey and pour over 1/2 cup milk, if desired.

 

Quinoa salad

2 servings

Ingredients:

• 60gm uncooked quinoa
• 2 pints water, or home made vegetable stock
• Vegetable stock cube (if not using home made stock)
• 1/2 savoy cabbage, shredded
• 1 leek, cut into thin rings
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:

1. Bring the stock up to a boil and add the quinoa. Cook until done. Drain and leave to cool. 
2. Cook the shredded cabbage and leek either in boiling water or by steaming. Drain. 
3. Add to the cooled quinoa. 
4. Season to taste and drizzle over the olive oil.

Variation: Add cooked chicken, ham, fish or seafood if desired.


This can be eaten as a side dish substitute for potatoes, pasta, or rice or it can be combined with a green leaf salad to make a healthy lunch-time option. I will make double portions for dinner, then use the leftovers for my lunch the next day.

Quinoa stuffing

Use cooked quinoa to stuff chicken breasts, pork chops, mushrooms, squashes, and just about anything else you can think of. Try adding different flavours by using chilli peppers, onions, and just about any herb or spice which will compliment the food being stuffed.
Place in a moderately hot oven and bake until the dish is cooked through.

Quinoa jambalaya

Serves 4

Quinoa can be substituted for rice in this traditional Cajun dish

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil plus 1 T butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 sweet pepper, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 chilli pepper, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed and minced
• Cajun spice or jambalaya paste
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 pound cooked meats - use sausages, chicken, fish or seafood or a combination of any of these
• 120gm uncooked quinoa
• 2 pints chicken or vegetable stock
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat the oil and butter in a stew pot. Add the onion, peppers, celery and garlic and cook until softened. Once cooked, stir in the cajun spice or jambalaya paste and let cook another minute.
2. Add in the tinned tomatoes and cooked meats and mix together. 
3. Add the quinoa and cook another minute, stirring constantly to keep from sticking. 
4. Pour in the stock.
5. Bring up to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer until the quinoa is cooked. 
6. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Alternate cooking method:
Cook the quinoa up separately in stock and serve the jambalaya over it. 

Vegetarian alternative:
Omit the meats and substitute cooked butternut squash and a tin of chickpeas.

Fish Chowder Made Easy

Do you ever have one of those days when you look at what you have on hand and think "What on earth can I make using that?" Well, so do I.

This week, the mystery ingredient is fish. Now, normally I would make a fish pie or a seafood risotto, but I didn't really want to spend that much time on cooking and besides I forgot to buy any risotto rice this week.

October weather has been quite mild this year, but come evening time temperatures are starting to dip, making this an ideal time of year to start having soups.

And there is my inspiration, I decided to make a fish chowder. A quick check in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook just to see how they did their clam chowder, and to get an idea on how much milk they use and what herbs or flavourings they add.

This is what I came up with.

Fish chowder

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 4 medium potatoes,diced
• 1 large onion, diced 
• 1 pack seafood selection (prawns, mussels, and squid)
• 1 pack fish pie mix
• Dried thyme
• Dried parsley
• Worcester sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste, but start with about 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cups water
• Vegetable stock cube
• 2 heaped teaspoons corn flour (corn starch)
• 2 cup skimmed milk

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed stewing pot. Add the chopped bacon and cook until crispy.
2. Add in the potatoes, onion, packs of seafood and fish, and stir to mix. Add in the dried herbs, worcester sauce, salt and pepper, water, and vegetable stock. Stir. Bring up to a boil then reduce heat. Leave to simmer about 10 - 15 minutes, until the fish is cooked and potatoes are soft. Uing the back of a wooden spoon, smash some of the cooked potato into the side of the pot and stir back into the soup.
3. Stir 2 heaped spoonfuls corn flour(corn stach) with 2 cups skimmed milk and pour in. Taste and adjust seasoning. Bring back up to a simmer and stir 1 - 2 minutes until it begins to thicken.

Serve with slices of buttered bread.

Langoustines, scallops, and salmon

When I go grocery shopping I make a point of stopping where all the discounted meats and fish are placed each day, just to see if I can find any good deals.

Langoustines

Today I found 2 discounted seafood items, scallops and langoustines. Scallops I've had many times and absolutely love.

I've never tried langoustine though. While it is sometimes called a Dublin Bay Prawn, it is actually a type of lobster. It can be found in the waters around Scotland but until recent years the majority of the catch was actually sold and eaten in France and other parts of Europe.

I've started seeing it at the fish counter in the past few years, but have always passed it over for more familiar seafood. When I found it today though it seemed the perfect time to try this seafood for myself.

After looking at various recipes and ideas on how to cook a langoustine, I decided to do something very simple. The result was this dish.

Langoustine in a creamy garlic butter over pasta

Langoustine in a creamy garlic butter sauce over pasta

 

 Pictured here served with salmon fillet and scallops

Serves 2
Cooking time: less than 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 slices streaky bacon, cut into pieces
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 4 spring onions, cut into thin rings
• tails of 6 langoustine, removed from shell and cut into 1/2 - 1 inch pieces
• 4 tablespoon creme fraiche
• salt and pepper to taste
• cooked spaghetti

Method

1. Remove shells from langoustine tails, rinse and cut into bite-size pieces. 
2. Heat the oil and butter in a saute pan, add the bacon and cook until it begins to crisp. 
3. Add in the garlic and spring onions, and cook until the onions begin to soften. 
4. Add the langoustine pieces, let cook 4 - 5 minutes turning occasionally. 
5. Let simmer another 4 - 5 minutes. 
6. Add in 4 tablespoons creme fraiche, season to taste. 
7. Toss in cooked pasta (I used spaghetti)



Really enjoying his dinner

8. Serve hot

I cooked the salmon fillets and the scallops in the same garlic butter but removed those from the pan before adding the creme fraiche to make a creamy sauce.

My youngest son loved this dish and gave it two very enthusiastic thumbs up.