Bun Bun's Seafood Chowder

for those of you not in the know, "Bun Bun" is a term of endearment, for my Mum, from my beloved Dad ... both of my parents grew up in Nova Scotia, Canada ... fun fact:  Nova Scotia is a peninsula, almost completely surrounded by the sea where no community in the province is more than sixty kilometres from saltwater ...

as you can imagine, the seafood is outstanding ... and great cooks abide in Nova Scotia ... my mother one of them ...

so, all that aside, here's her recipe for Seafood Chowder ... the magic is in the can of evaporated milk so don't skimp ...

Bun Bun's Seafood Chowder

 

1/2 cup of butter (yes a 1/2 cup ... it's a big pot so don't fret about the fat)

2 medium onions, diced

2 or 3 stalks of celery, diced (including the leafy bits up top)

2 potatoes

3 cups chicken broth or fish stock

1 Tbsp. basil*

1 Tbsp. oregano

1 Tbsp. paprika

8 cups of milk (I used 1% and it was just fine)

1 can evaporated milk

1 lb or more of white fish (haddock, cod, sole), cut into chunks

1 lb or more of shellfish (canned crab, shrimp, scallops, lobster, clams)

salt and pepper to taste

 

Melt butter and sauté onions and celery over medium heat until softened.  Add potatoes and cover with chicken broth or fish stock.  Heat until potatoes are just tender. 

 

Add remaining ingredients and simmer until seafood is flaky. Do not boil.  You want the seafood to remain in chunks.

 

And, of course, chowder is truly best the second day ... so warm on low heat.  Chowder is also best served with homemade biscuits.  Just sayin' ...

*With experience, cooking and flavors becomes intuitive so play with the spices a bit.  If you love thyme, add thyme.  I love basil so I will often double the basil.  At the table, put out some Tabasco sauce if you like a bit of heat.  Play!

 

 

Photo courtesy of Ms. Tureen