(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . What's For Dinner? v 17.41: Chowdah! [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-15 One of the best soups ever. Thanks to my mom for teaching me how to do it. First, as the chef of this dish, I ask you to click on all the links. Yes, they’re Chef John, but Chef John teaches the techniques first and foremost. When it comes to things like soups or stews, there’s an in between, and no, I’m not talking about the Rachael Ray “stoup”. We’re talking Chowder. But what makes a chowder? First, the etymology is pretty interesting. The root words are either derived from “chauder”, meaning “cauldron”, or a French dish called “chaudreé” which is a type of thick fish soup from the coastal regions of Charente-Maritime and Vendée. Chodier was also a name for a cooking pot in the Creole language of the French Caribbean islands. Note also the Portuguese, Brazilian, Galician and Basque fish and shellfish stew known as caldeirada which would appear to have a similar etymology. As this dish became more known, it gained in popularity among the mariners and sailors of that time. In 1890, in the magazine American Notes and Queries, it was said that the dish was of French origin. Among French settlers in Canada it was a custom to stew clams and fish laid in courses with bacon, sea biscuits, and other ingredients in a bucket called a "chaudière", and it thus came to be invented. Then the Native Americans adopted it as "chawder", which was then evolved into "chowder" in America. So, the word chowder became known to describe a shipboard dish—made with chunks of fish and potato, cooked with salt pork, and thickened with hardtack or biscuit of some sort. As time passed and it got more popular on land, it evolved to be any kind of thick soup with a cream base, using a roux to thicken instead of hard biscuit, and having chunks of salt pork, fish or other meat, and potatoes. And thus it evolved to the thick creamy chowder we know and love today. Although some regional chowders around the country and the world have a thinner broth. But enough history. I’m going to talk about one of my favorite dishes my mother taught me to cook. Her “fish soup”. Note: She never started with bacon, or salt pork, or anything like that. She wanted something she could serve during Lent. Here are the ingredients I used and the amounts for this batch: 2 medium large russet potatoes, diced (approx. 1 pound total) 1 stick butter ¾ cup flour, or thereabouts 1 pound pre diced onion and celery mix, or 8oz of each, finely diced 1 large poblano pepper, diced 1 or more jalapeno peppers, depending on how hot they are and how hot you like it, diced 1 pound catfish nuggets, cut into bite sized pieces 1 pound raw shrimp 1 pound pre cooked “seafood mix”, usually like squid, fake crab, octopus, mussels, stuff like that 8oz pre cooked mussel meats 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, with a slice or two of American to help the emulsification 1 box (4 cups) vegetable stock 1 quart whole milk Salt, pepper, dried dill, dried tarragon all to taste, or use what you like So, what I did: First, I diced and boiled some russet potatoes. I think I went about a minute or two too far, but hey. The starch will thicken the soup more. I cooked them in water and Knorr’s chicken bouillon. Why Knorr’s? Because MSG, which stands for “Make Sh*t Good”. Once they were cooked and set aside, I got to work on the soup itself. I sweated out some celery, onion, a couple very small poblanos (not the best selection at the store), and a jalapeno. The celery and the peppers are very important to the flavor. The celery adds a bright herbaceousness, and the peppers add bitterness and hopefully, some heat. The peppers I used were kind of mild, sigh, you get what you get. I also added dried dill and a LOT of dried tarragon. The tarragon woke up the whole dish. I also used a LOT of butter when sweating the veggies because I wanted a thick buttery roux. I added flour to the roux, cooked it off, and then added first the vegetable stock, and then milk. Mixing as you do to incorporate all the flour so no lumps and stuff. Once things started thickening and simmering, I added the catfish nuggets I diced. I diced them smaller than usual, because bariatric eating. The catfish is key, because it provides the main flavor. Some say it’s muddy and earthy, but catfish is a good southern/midwestern fish, and my dad being from east central Ohio, is well familiar with catfish. He taught me that it was the “mid sized” fish that were the best for eating, and not the larger ones. I added the shrimp after about a minute or so, keeping a gentle simmer and constantly stirring. At this point, I took a slotted spoon device and added the potatoes, still stirring. Then I added a couple slices of American cheese, so the cheddar would melt easier. Then I added the cheddar a handful at a time, as you do, with about a minute in between each handful. Once the cheese was melted and the soup was back to temperature, I added the seafood mix and mussels. Since the last seafoods are pre cooked, all they needed was to heat. The result is the picture at the very top of the diary. Now for the best part: Divided into 5oz or so portions, each portion comes out to like 210 calories. 10g fat, 13g carb, 16g protein. Even with all that butter. Slightly double that (as in 10-12oz) for a “full size” bowl for those that haven’t had bariatric surgery. Great macros, rich, filling, perfect for any season. Add crusty bread and a salad, and this is a MEAL. Me, I’m content with my 5oz portion, knowing I have enough meals for at least a full week, if not more. Another benefit, and why this is great in any season, is because after you do all the chopping, this comes together in like little more than a half hour, with the longest times being cooking the potatoes (20 min pre cook), gently sweating the veggies until tender, and waiting for the milk and stock to come to temp. So your kitchen is not sweltering for hours during the summer. Finally, I want to iterate that this is a TECHNIQUE. Vary the ingredients, vary the meat, or add other veggies like corn. Chowder, despite its origins, does NOT have to contain only seafood. Next time I might just do a rotisserie chicken chowder. I’m definitely eliminating one of the non catfish elements and replacing it with more catfish next time I make this. So that’s my adventure in chowder. Tonight, I’m making the favorite food of Jonathan Swift and Seán O’Casey, and mentioned by name by James Joyce. You guessed it, I’m making Dublin Coddle. Stay tuned for that diary coming in late May. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/15/2137241/-What-s-For-Dinner-v-17-41-Chowdah Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/