I can't eat scallops.
I've done it twice in my life and both times, I was sick enough for it to be hospital worthy. Being an East Coast kid, this may sound like an anomaly, but here's another one for you.
I didn't really eat seafood until I was in my 30s.
And so, these two factors, combined with the fact that almost every restaurant seafood chowder contains scallops, means not only have I never MADE seafood chowder, but I've never EATEN it either.
Until today.
Last week, I watched as day after day, Taste of Nova Scotia posted a different chowder recipe from one of it's members for Chowder Week, and I knew, as soon as I saw the recipe from Cabot Links, that it was the one for me.
I mean, come on, it has BACON in it for crying out loud. Of course it was the one for me.
I asked Cabot Links if I could share the recipe and they graciously said yes. I've rearranged the ingredient list slightly, to make it a little more clear for the home cook, and have also added notes in italics as to how I made mine today.
Cabot Links' Seafood Chowder *recipe shared with permission from Cabot Links*
3.5 C water - I used chicken stock instead of water
1.5 C potatoes, peeled, diced - I used nugget potatoes, unpeeled, cut in half
1/2 C leeks, cleaned, diced - sliced in medallions, measured, this was about half of one leek
1/4 C carrots, peeled, diced - sliced in medallions, measured, this was one medium sized carrot
1/4 C celery, diced - diced and measured, this was one whole rib of celery
1/4 lb scallops - because of my allergy, I used shrimp - 1/4 lb was 12 de-shelled, de-tailed shrimp
1/2 lb haddock, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/6 lb lobster - I used cooked lobster - 1/6 lb is 76g - I doubled the amount of lobster to 150g
1/2 C cooked, crumbled bacon - I used 4 whole strips of PC-brand super thick bacon
3 C 35% cream - aka whipping cream or heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste - I used 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper - adjust to suit your taste
- place water, potatoes, leeks, carrots and celery in a large pot - bring to a boil - reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes until vegetables are tender (because I used tiny nugget potatoes, my vegetables were cooked after 10 minutes)
- add scallops (I used shrimp) - simmer 5 minutes
- add haddock and, if using uncooked lobster, add it here - simmer 5 minutes
- if using cooked lobster, add it here with the bacon and cream - simmer 10-15 minutes
- season with salt and pepper to taste
- serve with puff pastry cut outs or buttered dinner rolls