FISH CHOWDER

[Guest guest]

FISH CHOWDER

 

As prepared in episode 120-taken from the website for the

show " Queer Eye for the Straight Guy "

 

Ingredients for fish chowder:

2 ounces smoky bacon, diced

1/4 cup pure olive oil

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 Scotch bonnet chile, stemmed, seeded and minced

1 medium Spanish onion, diced

4 stalks, celery, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

1 small fennel bulb, cored and diced

1 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into medium dice

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

4 cups crushed, peeled plum tomatoes

2 cups homemade or prepared tomato sauce

10 cups Blue Crab Stock

3 bay leaves, broken in half

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 1/4 pounds fish fillets, such as snapper, grouper, sole and/ or

cod, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 1/4 pounds red potatoes, scrubbed, cut into bite-sized pieces,

boiled until tender, and drained

Tabasco (optional)

 

In the largest soup pot or Dutch oven you have, cook the bacon in

the olive oil over medium-low heat until beginning to crisp. Add the

garlic and Scotch bonnet and cook for 30 seconds. Turn up the heat

to medium-high, add the onion, celery, carrot, fennel, and yellow

bell pepper, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, to

caramelize the vegetables, 8 to 12 minutes.

 

Stir in the crushed red pepper, then add the tomatoes, tomato sauce,

stock, bay leaves, and herbs. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the

heat and add the fish and potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes more, or

until the fish is just cooked through. Add Tabasco to taste, if

desired, and serve.

 

From New World Kitchen

by Norman Van Aken

Reproduced here courtesy of Ecco,

An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

2003