Salmon Chowder: Warms Winter’s Frosty Breath

I love chowders and soups and stews in the winter and most are just fine, but every now and again you stumble across something deliciously exceptional. 

No, I’m not talking about the rich and gorgeous beauty you met just two weeks after you married your wife.  That was just a shot in the dark and one quickly forgotten, until two weeks after that when another….but let’s stick to chowder. And for goodness sakes don’t worry.  As long as the payments keep coming your secret’s safe with me.

See, this chowder IS something exceptional you CAN share with the woman who wears your ring and is quick to keep you intellectually honest by continually pointing out an opposing point of view.

Ok, so let’s pour a huge glass of white wine and get cooking!  Ok, I’ll be honest. A big snifter of Armagnac.

Salmon Chowder

Remember, all recipes are only a starting point.  One person’s preference.  A cook never hesitates to veer in subtle or obvious ways.  Be BOLD!

½ a roasted, skinned and diced red bell pepper

½ pound potatoes cut into 1inch cubes

1 cup or more sliced mushrooms

½ cup diced onion

½ pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into ¼ inch wide strips

2 or more cups leeks thin sliced, white and pale green parts only

2 cups fresh or frozen corn

1 cup shredded carrots

1 heaping teaspoon herbs de Provence

4 Tablespoons butter

3 cups whole milk

2¼ cups heavy cream

1½ pounds of fresh caught salmon, skin removed, cut into 1 inch cubes

Salt and pepper to taste

Before serving, sprinkle with chopped fresh chives for garnish

The Process

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and set aside.

Fry the bacon in a five-quart heavy pot until crisp. Remove the bacon and add onion, corn, and herbs de Provence to the pot.  Stir for about five minutes, or until onions are wilted.

Add milk and cream and bring to a very light simmer.  Immediately reduce heat and add salmon, bacon, salt, pepper and cook until salmon is just cooked through and begins to break up, about five to eight minutes.

I like my chowder pretty thick. Too thick for you?  Add a little more cream, or some chicken broth.

Your wife will love you and forgive all sins…..hahaha, just kidding. Wives don’t forgive.

Salmon Chowder

I know for many of you, summer still abounds, with fluffy flowers blowing in a gentle breeze, the blazing sun overhead in a field of blue. The pleasures of sweat drops easing down your neck on the way to your car.  Yeah?  Well, I’m not writing for you.  You deserve no more sympathy than a porn star on a blind date, and no delicious Salmon Chowder.  I still haven’t made up my mind about whether I even like you or not.

I’m writing for the eternally hopeful, already feeling the bite of chilly air, who mourn the brown, saddened flowers, and stare teary eyed at the leaves cluttering the sidewalk in a maudlin display of self sacrifice.

Yes, my friends, I write for those ill-favored souls who must face the shortened days of dying sunlight and know they can’t make it through the day on brandy alone, even delicious brandy, such as the Armagnac filled water glass I hold in my two quivering hands.  So, first let me take a swallow…perhaps two swallows…make that two gulps…and lead you toward a chowder that will haunt the dreams of the middle-aged who already realize the best years dwell in the shadows of yesterday and dreams of chowder are a poor substitute for dreams of jolly, large breasted women.  Don’t mean to leave out the ladies, who no doubt dream of jolly, large breasted men.

Salmon Chowder

½ diced red bell pepper

1 medium potato, peeled and cubed into ½ inch pieces

½ cup of sliced mushrooms

½ pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into thin strips

2 cups thin sliced leeks, white portions only

1cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

A palm’s worth of sprigs of fresh thyme

4 tablespoons of butter

3 cups whole milk

2 ½ cups of whipping cream

1 ½ pounds fresh salmon, skin discarded

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped fresh chives or other green herbs for garnish

Pre-heat oven to 400ºF (200ºC)

Boil the cubed potatoes in a saucepan of salted water until barely tender.  Drain and set aside.

Cook the bacon in a five quart, heavy pot until crisp.  Remove and set aside.

Salt and pepper fresh salmon, put it on a foil-lined baking sheet and place it in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and roughly flake the fish.

In the same pot you used for the bacon, drain off the bacon fat, add butter and cook the leeks and diced red bell pepper until until wilted.

Add the milk, cream, salmon, bacon, corn and thyme. Bring just to a boil, then turn down the heat. Stir and cook 5-8 minutes.

Add salt and pepper as desired.

Serve with some rounds of a freshly baked baguette.

Don't forget to garnish with fresh chopped chives to the bowls of chowder.

If you still need more help with the transition from summer to misery, I suggest another water glass of Armagnac.