summer seafood chowder

This soup is all about extracting every bit of late summer flavors. Make sure not to skip the step of “milking” the corn, and reserve the shellfish cooking liquid—that’s where much of the goodness comes from in this recipe.

summer chowder recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 small onion, diced

  • 1 medium fennel bulb, cored and diced

  • Fennel fronds, chopped and reserved for the end (1/2 cup or so)

  • 4 ears of corn, shucked

  • 1 dozen clams

  • 1 lb mussels

  • 1/2 cup dry white wine

  • 1/2 lb. cod, hake, or similar firm, white fish - cut into roughly 1-inch pieces

  • Salt & ground pepper

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions:

  1. In a large pot or Dutch oven (le Creuset style), melt the butter then add the onion, fennel, and just a sprinkle of salt. Sweat gently over low heat without browning the vegetables, for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  2. Meanwhile, prepare the corn: cut the kernels from the ears and set aside. Working over a bowl with a fine-mesh strainer, scrape the cut corn cobs with a spoon to remove pulp and juice. Press this pulp against the strainer to extract the “corn milk” into the bowl.

  3. In a separate pot, cook the shellfish: Put in the wine and the clams first, put on the lid, and bring to a boil. After about 5 minutes, add the mussels. Give the pot a shake. As soon as the shellfish start opening, shake out the liquid into the cooking pot and remove shellfish to a clean bowl. The idea is to catch them when they’ve just opened. Once they are all opened and removed to the bowl, strain the shellfish cooking liquid into the large pot with the vegetables, and add an additional cup of water.

  4. When the fennel and onion are tender, add the chopped cod to the pot and some cranks of pepper. Put the lid on and cook at a simmer for 5 minutes or so, until fish is just becoming opaque. Add the corn and the “corn milk” to the pot and simmer a few minutes more, then add the reserved shellfish. You can splash in a bit more water if there does not seem to be enough liquid.

  5. Once the corn and fish are done cooking, immediately add cream and chopped fennel fronds and bring soup to a brief simmer. Taste, and add more cream, water, or seasoning as you like. The shellfish add quite a bit of salt on their own, so you probably won’t need to add more! Serve immediately.