The beauty of chowders is that you don’t need exacting measurements and in fact, half the fun is in the rustic approach of dealing in handfuls at a time. Vary this basic recipe to suit your own ambitions.
2 litres fish or chicken stock
2 medium onions finely diced
1 stalk celery peeled and diced
1 large potato finely diced
1 kumara finely diced
3-500g white fish fillets cut in bite-sized portions
1-2 cups chopped cooked mussels
1 cup peeled prawns
1 doz scallops
200ml cream
1tbsp curry powder
Pinch or two of cayenne pepper
Several good shakes of Piri Piri seasoning
Salt & cracked pepper to taste
50g butter
50g plain flour
Oil for frying
Heat a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil in a large saucepan and sweat onions and celery until soft.
Stir in curry powder, Piri Piri and cayenne and cook for one minute. Add stock, potatoes and kumara. Bring to a rapid boil for five minutes and turn back to a gentle simmer.
Cook until spuds and kumara are starting to break down – this acts as a thickening agent,
Add cream and season with salt & pepper.
To get a real thick and creamy chowder, strain off 300ml of the chowder liquer.
Melt butter in a pan and stir in flour, cooking while stirring for a minute. Gradually stir in the liquer until a smooth consistency is attained.
Return this to the chowder and cook for a further fifteen minutes, stirring regularly.
Add seafood three minutes before the end of cooking.
