Description
This easy seafood chowder is a comforting, creamy soup featuring tender potatoes, succulent prawns or smoked fish, and fresh vegetables like sweetcorn or peas. Enhanced with fragrant garlic, shallots, and a touch of lemon zest, this chowder is perfect for a quick and satisfying meal served with crusty bread.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 1 small potato (about 150g), cut into 2cm cubes
- ½ tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 celery stick, finely chopped
- 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 200ml semi-skimmed or whole milk
- 100ml vegetable or fish stock
- 80g frozen prawns or smoked fish
- 75g fresh or frozen sweetcorn or peas (or use a mixture)
- 1 small lemon, zested and juiced
- ½ tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus extra to serve (optional)
- Crusty bread, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the potatoes: Tip the potatoes into a small saucepan and cover with cold salted water. Bring to the boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes until just softened. Drain and set aside.
- Sauté aromatics: Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook the celery and shallot for 3 minutes until softened. Add the grated garlic and fry for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Make the roux and sauce: Stir in the plain flour and cook for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low and slowly pour in the milk while whisking continuously until a thick sauce forms. Then stir in the stock and simmer for 2 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly again.
- Add seafood and vegetables: Tip in the prawns or smoked fish, vegetables (sweetcorn or peas), and cooked potatoes. Simmer gently for 4-5 minutes until the vegetables have defrosted if frozen and the seafood is fully cooked.
- Finish the chowder: Once the mixture is creamy and coats the back of a spoon, add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and up to 50ml water if the chowder is too thick. Season with black pepper, salt, and chopped parsley.
- Serve: Pour the chowder into bowls, top with extra black pepper and parsley, and serve with crusty bread if desired.
Notes
- You can substitute prawns with smoked fish according to preference or availability.
- Adjust the consistency of the chowder by adding water if it becomes too thick.
- Crusty bread is optional but recommended for a complete meal experience.
- For a richer chowder, use whole milk instead of semi-skimmed.
- Ensure seafood is fully cooked before serving for food safety.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: seafood chowder, easy chowder recipe, seafood soup, prawn chowder, creamy chowder, quick seafood meal
