Salmon chowder
55 min · 32 g protein · 323 cals / serving
An East Coast kitchen-party chowder with chunks of salmon, potatoes and corn in a creamy, smoky base. The body comes from blending part of the potatoes with milk instead of a flour-and-cream roux, and a little bacon gives it the smoke that makes it chowder.
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon, chopped (about 30 g once cooked)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 550 g (1 1/4 lb) gold potatoes, peeled, in 1.5 cm (1/2-inch) cubes
- 900 ml (3 3/4 cups) chicken broth, or fish stock
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 500 ml (2 cups) skim milk
- 1/2 can (185 ml) fat-free evaporated milk
- 600 g (1 1/3 lb) sockeye salmon, skinned, in 2.5 cm (1-inch) chunks
- 250 ml (1 cup) frozen corn
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
To finish
- 3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
Steps
- Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium heat until crisp, 4–5 minutes, then pour off all but about 1 tsp of the fat. Add the onion, celery and carrot, cover, and soften them 6–8 minutes, stirring now and then and adding a splash of the broth if they start to stick. Stir in the garlic for a minute.
- Add the potatoes, broth, thyme and bay leaf. Simmer, covered, until the potatoes are completely tender, 12–15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.
- Ladle about a third of the potatoes and vegetables, with some broth, into a blender with the skim milk and evaporated milk, and blend smooth (or use a stick blender in a tall jug). Pour it back into the pot.
- Bring the chowder back to a bare simmer, add the salmon and corn, and cook very gently 5–6 minutes, until the salmon flakes and reaches 145°F. Do not let it boil hard once the milk is in. Season with the salt and pepper.
- Stir in the dill and lemon juice just before serving. Taste once more; chowder usually wants another pinch of salt at the end.
Good to know
Why evaporated milk?
It is milk with some of the water cooked off, so it brings the richness of cream and its own slightly caramel flavor, and it is less likely than fresh milk to curdle when it simmers.
Which salmon works best?
Any firm salmon. Sockeye or coho hold their chunks well; farmed Atlantic is richer and a little softer, at about 68 instead of 76. Smoked salmon stirred in at the end is a good addition too.
Does it reheat well?
Yes, gently, over low heat. Boiling it again makes the salmon tough and can split the milk.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 66
- Protein
- (40%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (20%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (39%)
- 7 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 239 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1938 kcal goes into the pot and 3307 g of ingredients comes out as about 2950 g of food: 66 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.