Simple Salmon Chowder

Woo-ee! Today was a rough day. I was so glad to get in the door and have a little zen time in my kitchen with my brand-spanking-new camera.

And since I'm the sharing type of gal, I thought I'd publish my recipe for really basic salmon chowder.

Now, for the record, I live in eastern Canada and have a generally fresh supply of Atlantic Salmon. (And I apologize in advance for making you stare into the eyes of your supper...)



I really, really apologize after seeing how shocked and dismayed this particular fish looks. But don't worry, he's gone on to a better place. (Like my stomach, omnom!) ... j/k. Sorta.

Anyway, let's get started!




Start off with a medium onion.




You'll want to peel off the skin, lop off the top, and split it in two.

(This all sounds so gruesome after the fish, doesn't it?)




Leave that little spindly root-part intact. It'll hold the onion together as you make these cuts...




And turn the onion around and chop it...

(Also: my flash is apparently really eager and just randomly turns itself on to overexpose some pictures... If anyone knows how to disable a flash other than TAPING IT SHUT, please let me know! TIA.)




And there you have it. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.




Grab yourself some celery.




Two stalks will do ya.

Lop off the gnarly ends...




And slice 'er up.




Two stalks gave me about 1 and 1/2 cups, which is just about enough for this.




Not wanting to upset the balance of the Force, I also grabbed two carrots...

And lopped off the gnarly ends.




And split them in two.

Unevenly. Because that's how I roll.




Then I split them in quarters.

Also unevenly. See above.




Then gave them a rough chop.




I got about the same amount carrots as celery, so the Force was indeed in balance.

Or so I thought...




Until I chopped up two massive potatoes.




My pyrex cup overfloweth...




Luckily, there is very little that a lot of butter won't fix.

And, I promise, there is a lot of butter.




This is my large, and only somewhat grody stock pot.




I dropped a little knob of butter into the pot, and put it over medium heat.




Added in the onions, carrots and celery, and cooked them until the onion turned translucent.




While that was cooking, I grabbed a smaller (though no less significant) pot for the potatoes...

(It's very important to keep all your pots on equal footing, you know.)




That one little cube of tater on the cusp of the cup looks so eager!

"Me first, me first!"

It's healthy to personify your vegetables. Really. Adds nutrients.




It only takes about five minutes to boil such little cubes of potato.

But it takes ten minutes of cursing and searching to not find your sieve, give up, and use a steamer basket instead.




To the veggies, I added 1/2 cup (one stick) of butter.

And after it melted, I decided my arteries could take it, and added 1/4 cup more.




The butter, it soothes us, my precious.




Since the veggies are suspended in approximately 3/4 cup of butter, that's the same amount of flour I have here.




I stirred the flour into the pot.

This looks gummy and unappetizing atm, but this will make a roux that will thicken the chowder.




You just have to cook it until it loses the 'raw' flour taste. It will start to smell nutty, like browned butter...




And take on an almost almond-butter-y-type color. As soon as it reaches that color, remove the pot from the heat while you prepare your homemade, completely organic chicken/fish stock...




Orrrrrrr...

Dig the OXO out of your cupboard, and mix up about eight cups of it.

Just keepin' it real.




Once the stock is added, it sort of looks really yellow, like thickened chicken noodle soup.

But it will all turn out in the end.

I brought this up to a boil again for about five minutes to finish cooking the carrots, then added in the potatoes and...




... this.




Mm. Butter and cream. You could probably use milk. But with 3/4 cup butter already hanging out in there, what's the point?




Once it's all stirred up, it starts to actually look like chowder.




And then you're done! Enjoy!




Just kidding.

This. This is what it's all about.

Two pounds of delicious, baked, deboned and flaked Atlantic salmon.

Can I get a 'hell yeah'?




Mm...




Mmmmm...

And, because butter and cream and salmon wasn't enough...




Bacon.

'nuff said.




Once it's all combined, you can always add a little fresh (or dried) herbs. I added a pinch of chives to mine, but dill or parsley or anything else would be be-yoo-tee-full too.

But bread. Bread is a must.


Nobody's Atlantic Salmon Chowder

1 medium onion
2 stalks celery
2 carrots
1 tbsp butter (to start!)
2 large potatoes
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
8 cups chicken/fish stock
4 cups (1 liter) cream
2 pounds cooked salmon, deboned and flaked (trimmings work well)
1/3 pound bacon, rendered
salt and pepper to taste
herbs (chives/dill/parsley/etc) to taste

Chop onion, celery and carrots. Add with 1 tbsp butter to large stock pot. Cook over medium heat until onions are translucent.

Cube potatoes and add to large pot. Cover with water, add a pinch of salt, and boil until tender. (Approx 5 minutes, depending on size of cubes.) Drain potatoes, set aside.

Melt 3/4 cup butter in stock pot with onion, celery and carrot. Stir in 3/4 flour. Cook and stir over medium heat approximately 5 minutes until roux reaches light almond color. Remove pot from heat and add stock. Return to boil for 5 minutes, or until carrots are cooked.

Add 4 cups cream, potatoes, salmon, bacon, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.



Now, if you'll excuse me...




Come to mama.