This hearty fish & corn chowder makes the perfect easy & healthy weeknight meal, no matter what your weather outside.
Howdy friends! I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas and is getting to the bottom of their cookie tins. Who’s ready for a recipe that doesn’t involve sugar and coloured sprinkles??? I definitely am!
Not only am I over the cookies, but I’ve really been craving soup lately! I guess somewhere deep inside, I still expect December to be cold and snowy, like it is in Colorado where I grew up. Or maybe my subconscious still hasn’t fully accepted that I’m here in the tropics where the coldest it gets in the “winter” months is 23 degrees Celsius… not Fahrenheit! I’ll take it, though… it’s a welcome change from 38C (~104F).
Whatever the case, we still eat soup pretty much all year round here, but I do have to admit, it tastes even better during these chillier months. I’ve never made any type of fish soup before, but the thought of mild white fish in a thick, hearty chowder was appealing, so I got to work. How thrilled was I when it turned out great right out of the chute??
Normally, chowders are cream-based, with the veggies sautéed in a lot of butter. Yum! But it can leave you feeling heavy afterward. So I used only a tiny amount of olive oil to sauté the onion & carrot, and enriched it with homemade almond milk instead of cream (I think store-bought almond milk would work fine too… just be sure to get plain, unsweetened… not vanilla, haha.) Then the key to getting that thick & creamy texture was blending part of the soup in my Vitamin (any blender will work) before adding the cooked fish & corn back in. I also kept back about half of the potato chunks.
Including time to pre-cook the fish, this soup took me only 30 minutes to make. Super-fast & easy for a weeknight dinner, and perfect for curling up on the sofa with a glass of crisp white wine and a good movie.
Enjoy!!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs halibut filet
- 1/2 lb salmon filet
- 1 t. olive oil
- 1/2 a large onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled & diced
- 1 t. thyme
- 1/2 t. salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 lbs potatoes (about 5 medium), peeled & cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups plain unsweetened almond milk
- 1 can whole kernel corn
Instructions
- Pre-cook halibut and salmon by broiling for about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, break into bite-sized chunks.
- Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion, carrots, thyme, salt & pepper for about 5 minutes until onion is soft & translucent. Add potatoes & broth, bring to a boil, and cook for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender but not falling apart.
- Transfer about 1/2 the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth (be careful as hot liquids expand.) Return to the pot and add the almond milk, corn, and cooked fish chunks. Heat through, adjust seasoning, and serve. Makes 5-6 servings.
This soup was so good! I think that it is now my favorite soup ever, topping broccoli cheese soup by a little. This soup had the perfect texture and taste! I’m so glad we went to Rustan’s to buy that corn because it made the meal so much better (even though it would still be good without the corn)! I love you and all of your delicious recipes!