Salmon Chowder
To substitute fresh herbs for dried, double the amount called for and add them 5 minutes before the soup is ready.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 4–6
- 20 scallions (or 2 cups of any type of onion, chopped)
- ¼ pound (4 ounces) bacon
- 2 shallots
- 1 teaspoon thyme or summer savory (fresh, if possible)
- 1 teaspoon tarragon (fresh, if possible)
- 2 pounds potatoes (any kind but red)
- 3 pounds salmon
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups Fish Broth or Basic Chicken Broth
- 1½ cups cream
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh chopped dill (optional)
Trim the scallions and cut into 1-inch pieces. Dice the bacon. Finely dice the shallots and herbs. Slice the potatoes into ⅛-inch-thick slices. Remove the skin and bones from the salmon and cut into 3-inch chunks.
In a soup pot, sauté the bacon to a golden brown in its own fat. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat, leaving that much in the pot along with the bacon. Add the butter, scallions, shallots, and bay leaves, and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the potatoes and the broth, supplementing the mixture with enough water to cover the potatoes, if necessary. Bring to a boil, reduce to medium, and cook for 10 minutes only.
With the back of a spoon, mash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot and stir to thicken the mixture. Add the salmon and cook for 10 minutes. Allow the soup to cool slightly, then stir in the cream and add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped dill, if desired.
Common Fresh Herbs
Most supermarkets now carry a variety of fresh herbs including thyme, chives, rosemary, sage, and oregano. But even if they don't, you can almost always find fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, the best kind for cooking. Dill and cilantro are now quite common, and I recently saw fresh flash-frozen herbs in the freezer section of a store.
