Skip to main content

Scallop Chowder


I often buy frozen scallops. When I want a fast dinner, I thaw them in the fridge overnight, rinse and drain them well, and either sear them and serve alongside steak or in a pasta dish. For this weekend, however, I was in less of a rush and wanted to change up my usual scallop routine. I had recently made my grandpa Bumbi’s fish chowder, and realized I could easily adapt it to for scallops instead of white fish.

I confess I have made a few changes to Bumbi’s fish chowder recipe beside the protein swap; I add corn and mushrooms, and top it all off with swiss cheese. I love the earthiness of the mushrooms against the sweetness of the corn. I add the swiss because I am a firm believer than almost everything can be improved with the addition of cheese; I love how the shreds begin to melt into the chowder. It is especially satisfying to dip a piece of bread into the chowder and come away with it covered in melted cheesy goodness. On a rainy Saturday, this is a great recipe to enjoy with a glass (or the rest of the bottle) of dry white wine. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 pound of scallops
4 tablespoons butter
1 small sweet onion, diced
4 ounces fresh sliced shiitake mushrooms
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup light cream
4 ears of corn, kernels sliced off
4 medium red potatoes, cut into half inch pieces
1 cup of dry white wine
1 1/2 cup chicken stock- salt free
2 teaspoons salt
freshly cracked pepper
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 tablespoon minced chives

Method:
Wash and drain scallops. If you are using bay scallops, keep them whole. If you are using large ocean scallops, cut them n half.


In a medium stock pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Saute the onion, mushrooms, and corn kernels until tender. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute until the raw flour taste is cooked out. Slowly pour in the milk and cream while whisking to prevent flour lumps from forming. Add the wine, stock, salt, pepper and potatoes. Cook over medium heat until the potatoes are easily pierced by a fork but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. Add the scallops and cook a further 10 minutes until the scallops are cooked and tender. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Cookies

Like many of you, I made an entire Thanksgiving Day feast for only my husband and I. As such, I have an inordinate amount of leftovers. Expect my blog to largely star ways to dress up leftovers, because I have freezer meals of Thanksgiving day to last a lifetime. In this recipe, I was looking for a way to use up cranberry sauce and leftover walnuts from my apple crisp. Cranberry sauce drop cookies seemed the perfect thing to make; enjoy it with a cup of hot cocoa. I plan on gifting some to my parents; a way to break bread near the holiday without breaking protocols. Enjoy!  Ingredients: 3 3/4 cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 2 sticks of butter, softened 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 eggs 1 cup cranberry sauce 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup chopped nuts Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Set aside a rimmed baking tray. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside. With ...

Samosas with Yogurt Sauce

I love exploring many kinds of cuisine in my kitchen because I can control the spice level, and in the case of this recipe, the use of cilantro. Cilantro lovers out there- sub it info the parsley here. I have the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, which limits my ability to enjoy some dishes in restaurants, but is easily rectified in my own kitchen. I hope you enjoy! Ingredients:  3 russet potatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped 2 teaspoons curry powder 5 ounces peas Six 8 inch flour tortillas 4 ounces Greek yogurt Oil, salt, pepper, vinegar 4 tablespoons butter Method: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet. Scrub potatoes and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces. Place in a large saucepan with a generous pinch of salt and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Cover and bring to a boil over high; uncover and cook until tenderDrain potatoes and transfer to a bowl.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in reserved saucepan over medium. Add chopped garl...

Peek-a-boo Squares

My grandma, Mimi, taught me this recipe. I used to make this with her and my mother as a child. It is my very favorite dessert. It is incredibly easy to make, and even easier to eat. My favorite part of making this as a child was dusting every bar generously with snowy white powdered sugar.  My favorite version of this dessert uses canned blueberry pie filling; I vastly prefer Libby brand over the store brand. You can make blueberry pie filling from scratch with sugar, cornstarch, bleberries, etc. but using the canned stuff is easy in a pinch and is much for nostalgic for me. Plus, I don’t notice a vast improvement over my homemade blueberry pie filling and the Libby brand; it just takes me longer to put this dessert together.  I have been known to whip up a pan of these Friday night and have them disappear by Saturday afternoon. Be warned, these things are addictive! Ingredients: 3 cups of all-purpose flour 2 cups of granulated sugar 4 eggs 2 ...