Serves 6
Ingredients:
- 3 slices of smoked bacon, diced
- 1 onion, shredded
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced
- 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup heavy whipped cream or half and half
- 1 cup clam juice
- 1 teaspoon dry parsley
- 1 teaspoon dry thyme
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste.
- 2 tablespoons All purpose flour + water
Seafood:
- 1-2 lobster tails
- 1 pound Shrimps, peeled and deveined
- 1 dozen clams
- 1 pound mussels
Garnish:
- Steamed seafood
- Parsley
- Drizzle of Olive oil
Instructions:
- Add about 2 cups of water into the Xtrema Versa pot, and place seafood medley to the water, cover and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down on simmer after it boils. After 5 to 6 minutes, check to see if the clams/mussels have opened. If only a few remain closed, cover the pot and cook for a couple of more minutes. If they are still closed, please discard them.
- Allow them to cool a bit after cooking, then remove the clams/mussels from the shells, and leave some in the shell for the final presentation/garnish. Same goes for shrimps, leave a few with a tale on for the final presentation. Remove the lobster meat from the tail and roughly chop all removed from the shell seafood to the bite size pieces; set aside. *Keep seafood that is for the garnish covered in the pot to keep them from getting too rubbery.
- Heat Xtrema Versa Pot or Dutch oven on a high heat, then turn down on medium.
- Add diced bacon over medium heat and cook until crisp.
- Remove with a spoon to lined paper towels; reserve drippings.
- Saute onion and celery in bacon drippings until tender. Add potatoes and about 2 cups of water; bring to a boil. Cook for about 10 minutes at medium high heat or until the potatoes are half way done.
- Add in the Xtrema Versa pot or Dutch oven the seafood that is removed from the shells and chopped to bite size, and put back bacon crisps or reserve for garnish.
- Pour in heavy cream or half and half, clam juice, and season the chowder with with salt and ground black pepper, to taste and add dry herbs. Cover and simmer, for about 30 to 40 minutes, on a low heat, stirring often. Add more liquid if necessary.
- Make Roux, by mixing 2 tablespoon of all purpose flour with 4-5 tablespoons of water. Mix with a fork until smooth in texture and there is no lumps visible. Add spoon of roux at the time to the chowder until the desired thickness is reached. Make sure to keep string until the chowder is thick enough.
- Garnish the chowder with reserved seafood, herbs and drizzle of olive oil. Serve hot, with crunchy bread on the side.
NOTE
- You may also use any other thickening agent, such as cornstarch, potato flakes, or arrowroot. Starch thickeners are mixed with an equal amount of cold water, then introduced slowly to warm liquids to thicken them. Those are great to substitute all purpose flour, for stews, soups and sauces.
- You can use any firm fish like cod, salmon, etc, or other seafood, such as squid, sea scallops, etc. You can also use already prepared seafood that is most likely frozen if you are unable to get fresh.
