Cheats Seafood Chowder, easy and delicious
This cheats seafood chowder is made with frozen seafood and fish and a “stock” made with oyster sauce, fish sauce, nutmeg, tarragon, garlic and water. Simple but with lots of flavour.
It’s cheating because it requires very little preparation. If, like me, you love seafood but are ultimately very reluctant to prepare fish or seafood from fresh to make a soup or stock, then this is recipe for you. The reason why I don’t use a shop bought fish stock is simply because most supermarkets near me don’t sell ready made fish stock.
Please note: Not all fish sauce and oyster sauce are gluten-free but some are. So just check the ingredients to be sure. The Thai brand is gluten-free.
Cheats Seafood Chowder
Yield: Serves 4
Suitable for: Gluten-free diet
Ingredients:
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 leek, trimmed & sliced
- 2 carrots, diced small
- 1 potato, diced small
- 8 button mushrooms, quartered
- 1 small skinless boneless salmon fillet
- 1 small boneless smoked fish fillet
- 8 frozen calamari rings
- 8 frozen mussels
- 8 frozen prawns
- 2 tbsp gluten-free oyster sauce
- 1 tsp gluten-free fish sauce
- 25g fresh tarragon
- 3 garlic cloves, halved & bruised with flat side of knife
- 1 pint hot water
- ¼ whole nutmeg nut
- 2 heaped tbsp gluten-free plain flour
- 150ml fresh cream
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ~100ml dry white wine
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 15g butter
- 1 lemon
- salt & pepper
Instructions:
Make the “stock”
The oyster sauce, fish sauce, tarragon, garlic, nutmeg and hot water are used as a substitute for fish stock. In a deep bowl add the oyster sauce, fish sauce, tarragon, nutmeg and garlic. Pour over the pint of hot water. Stir till the oyster sauce is completely blended with the water. Leave to infuse while you make the rest of the soup.Make the soup
Heat the oil in a deep saucepan. add the butter and when it is melted add in the leek, onion, carrots, potato and mushrooms. Sprinkle in a good pinch of salt and pepper and stir around well. Cover the saucepan and leave veg to sweat for 15 minutes or until the veg has softened. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan. add the butter and when it is melted add in the leek, onion, carrots, potato and mushrooms. Sprinkle in a good pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir around well. Cover the saucepan and leave veg to sweat for 15 minutes. When the veg has softened, Add the flour and stir around so that all the veg is covered. Keep stirring for about 2 minutes to cook the flour. Stir the wine into the “stock”. Strain the “stock” and pour in bit by bit into saucepan, letting it thicken smoothly with the flour in the pan. The soup should develop a sort of velvety look. Turn the heat up to high and bring to the boil. Keep stirring to avoid the back burning or sticking. Add the frozen fish and seafood. Let the soup come to a boil again then reduce the heat to simmer the fish and seafood until cooked, about 8 minutes.Final touches
When the fish is cooked turn off the heat and remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the cream. Next stir in the Dijon mustard in now. Taste and season as necessary. Serve with a wedge of lemon. And make sure each bowl gets a crab claw.
Enjoy!
