I’ve made this fish chowder a couple of times (including last night!) and I wanted to share it.  When I first made it, we’d bought a little over a pound of delicious looking chowder mix at our local Farmer’s Market and I wanted to try to make a dairy free chowder.  I was pretty skeptical as I, like most others, associate a good chowder with the liberal use of heavy cream.  The hubby and I were delighted to find that this was one of the best chowders we’d ever had!

Here’s what you need:

1 1/2 lb. of fish chowder mix

2-3 potatoes, peeled, diced

1 onion, diced finely

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1-2 cups dry white wine

Olive oil for sauteeing

Salt, pepper and thyme to taste

Here’s what you do:

Heat some olive oil in a large pot or deep saucepan over medium heat, and add the onions and garlic.

Cook until soft and translucent, and then add the potatoes.  Turn the heat down and cook the potatoes slowly, ensure that they don’t crisp on the edges.

About halfway through the cooking process, add your white wine (and if you used more than 1-2 cups, no one’s counting!).  Allow the potatoes to finish cooking in the wine.

Using a food processor, blend three quarters of the potato/onion/garlic/wine mixture.  Once blended, return to the pot on the stove on medium heat.  Depending on how much wine you added and how much cooked off, you might want to add some water here to achieve the consistency of soup you desire (up to you – however thick you like your chowder).  Next, add salt, pepper and a dash of thyme, tasting until you get the right flavour.

Now that you have a flavourful, thick, potato soup, add in your fresh seafood.  Warm until the seafood is juuuust cooked – you want to make sure that it stays tender and not rubbery.

Serve with a couple slices of crusty, buttered bread and a glass of chilled Riesling.

Enjoy!

Recipe is a Jessie original!