This recipe for fish chowder comes from my mom. Light, simple and makes an easy, comforting dinner. Only takes 7 ingredients and 15 minutes minutes of work. Gluten free!
This light, delicate fish chowder was one of my Mom’s signature dishes, and every time I make it I’m filled with warm memories of her amazing spirit. This recipe has been passed down through several generations of New England fishermen’s wives, and I couldn’t be happier to be posting it.
What Fish Is Used For Fish Chowder?
For this recipe, I used Pacific Cod, as Atlantic Cod has become overfished in recent years and is now working to replenish it’s stock back up to a healthy level. However, this chowder works well with any firm fleshed fish and I strongly suggest you use whatever is easiest for you to obtain. Halibut, grouper, pollock, haddock, salmon or sea bass would all be excellent, but avoid tuna, swordfish and light flaky fish like flounder and snapper.
Whatever fish you decide to use, it’s important to know your source.
What is Sustainable Seafood?
Lets get to the root:
Sustainable (adjective):
Able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed; Involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources ; Able to last or continue for a long time.
Making sustainable food choices means selecting foods that have been produced and sourced in ways that do not disturb or negatively impact our food systems. By taking a little time to become educated and make yourself aware of the problems that face our food systems, you can help protect our natural resources and preserve them for generations to come.
How do you go about purchasing sustainable seafood in the first place? Here’s a few tips:
- Always purchase from a reputable source. Using a local fishmonger is often your best bet, but in many areas, especially in landlocked states, such a thing just doesn’t exist. Luckily, there are tons online sources offering sustainably sourced, flash-frozen, excellent quality seafood at reasonable prices. Find some great resources here.
- Research the fish before heading to the store. Thinking of using salmon for a recipe? Read up on the different varieties of salmon on the market and make an educated choice based on your findings and what’s available.
- Ask! All reputable fishmongers should be able to tell you where your fish came from and how it was sourced. If they can’t, there’s something fishy going on and they should be avoided at all costs. (I’ve been waiting all post to make that pun so I really hope you liked it!)
How to Make Fish Chowder
This fish chowder recipe is New England style, meaning it contains cream. It’s very easy to make. Simply sauté the celery and onions in butter, add the potatoes and water, then season and boil until the potatoes are cooked through. Add the fish and simmer until cooked, then finish with chopped parsley. That’s it.
This recipe is an excellent lesson in the art of restraint. As a young cook it was instinctual for me to always want to add more, more, more. If something was good, then more would surely be better, right? Not the case. As I’ve grown as a chef, I’ve learned that oftentimes less really is more.
I’ve tried altering this soup by adding carrots, leeks, garlic, bacon, different thickeners, white wine, clam juice, fish stock and thyme all in attempt to make it more cheffy; more gourmet. None of it worked. It’s perfect as it is.
This fish chowder is easily one of my favorite comfort foods because it reminds me so much of my Mom. She always kept it really simple, and it’s better that way. This fish chowder isn’t thick and heavy like many cream based New England varieties tend to be. It’s light, yet incredibly satisfying, and the flavor of the fish really shines through.
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My Mama’s Fish Chowder
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Category: soup
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: New England
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This recipe for fish chowder comes from my mom. Light, simple and makes an easy, comforting dinner. Only takes 7 ingredients and 15 minutes minutes of work. Gluten free!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 large yellow or sweet onion, peeled and diced
- 8 ribs celery, diced
- 1 lb waxy potatoes (not russet), cut into large cubes
- 6 cups water
- 2 tablespoons salt
- freshly cracked pepper
- 1 pound sustainably caught firm white fish such as cod, halibut or haddock, cut into large cubes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup minced flat leaf parsley (loosely packed)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large, heavy bottomed pot and sauté the onion and celery with a pinch of salt until translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Add in the potatoes, toss to coat, then add the water, salt and pepper. Bring the liquid up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
- Add in the fish, cover, and simmer for another 10 minutes or util the fish is cooked through. Stir in the heavy cream and fresh parsley. Adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Serve immediately with lots of crusty bread for dipping.
Notes
- This soup is even better after it sits overnight. Be sure to make enough for leftovers!
Keywords: new england, seafood, cod, haddock, creamy
Nicole Gaffney, aka Coley, is a professionally trained chef, recipe developer, tv host and food writer.
One word! YUM!! Great writing too.
Thanks Linda! I’ve been a little self conscious about my writing, so hearing that never hurts 🙂
Love a good chowder recipe! I lived in Maine as a child and chowder always reminds me of my time there.
Awesome! This one is so simple, but so satisfying. I hope you try it!
This chowder looks SO good! You have successfully made my mouth water! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Bonnie! Hope you give it a try 🙂
<3 <3 <3 I feel the Love, Babe! I feel the Love! <3 <3 <3
Thanks Joy! I always feel your love, and JOY! 🙂
P.S. I just made this tonight… I resisted the urge to do a “little extra here and there” and I’m SOOOO glad I didn’t mess with it (as you stated)… absolutely PERFECT! Thank you, Coley… and a special thanks to your mom in Heaven!
Hooray! I’m so glad you made it as is… It’s VERY easy to want to embellish, so I’m proud of you for sticking to the original recipe and I’m super duper glad you loved it!!
I’ve never had a fish chowder before! And I looooove chowder.
This looks so great–you had me at “not as heavy as a traditional New England chowder!” I like that it’s a happy medium and therefore perfect for this time of year when there’s still a bit of a chill in the air but you don’t want something that sticks to your ribs too much.
So glad to be part of this initiative with you and all the others too!
Coley, I never had Fish chowder before but, your Mama’s recipe looks absolutely amazing. I’ll have to try it using some halibut . Hope to see you in June at the SSBC.
Thanks Kim! Its great with halibut – hope you give it a try!
I just made a seafood chowder last night but this looks like a tasty one! Great photos too. Glad to be part of the Sustainable Seafood Project.
thank you!
Bet it’s good. Very similar to a tasty fish chowder I make: https://buttoni.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/fish-dill-chowder/
Yum! That looks awesome. I love dill! 🙂
I’m actually not very fond of dill. Or I should perhaps say I like the taste, but it often doesn’t agree with my stomach for some wacky reason. But just a little in fish chowders is divine. I’m going to try your recipe with some mild fish for lunch today. 🙂
1/4 what flat leaf parsley?
1/4 cup – loosely packed. Thanks for pointing out the typo. Changing now!
This looks simply awesome . I would love to try it out. Could you recommend any low fat substitute for the heavy cream?
I’ve used half and half before with good results, but I wouldn’t go with anything lighter than that. You really need some fat in there to give it the creaminess. Enjoy!