Smoked Salmon Chowder: A Perfectly Comforting Recipe for a Cold Winter's Night

I love soups and chowders, especially when the weather gets cold. Down here in Georgia, we don't get too many really cold nights, but there are some exceptions. I had just purchased two and a half pounds of smoked salmon for Christmas, so my husband Bill and I had the perfect excuse to make a big pot of Smoked Salmon Chowder for dinner last night. As we were sitting at the table enjoying that velvety chicken stock based chowder, it occurred to me that this was a recipe well worth sharing with others.

My husband and I adapted this simple recipe for Smoked Salmon Chowder from one that originally appeared on Allrecipes.com by a contributor named hils. We have prepared this recipe twice and it's turned out perfectly both times. It takes close to two hours to make this chowder the right way and serves up to eight people.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon dill
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 ounces of smoked salmon, cut into half inch pieces
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
1 cup of half and half or milk

Directions

In a large stock pot over medium heat, combine the butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, and celery. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, or until the onions are tender and transparent. Sprinkle flour over the mixture and stir well to make a dry roux. Gradually add the chicken or vegetable broth and stir until the mixture has thickened slightly. Stir in the potatoes, dill, tarragon, thyme, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and allow to simmer for twenty minutes.

Stir in the smoked salmon, wine, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Simmer over low heat uncovered for another ten minutes.

Mix in the half and half and continue to simmer for half hour, stirring occasionally. Do not let the chowder boil after adding the half and half or milk. Serve hot.

How we enjoyed this chowder

Our house smelled wonderful last night as we prepared this chowder for dinner. The onions, garlic, and celery, along with the dried spices, was very inviting and appetizing. The potatoes cooked down until they practically melted in the mouth. The chowder's base was smooth and comforting. Making this smoked salmon chowder was the perfect way to use up some of that side of salmon I just bought. We used half and half with our recipe, but milk can be used to make the chowder less fattening and filling, though it does change the texture somewhat.

This chowder is filling enough to be a meal by itself and goes exceptionally well with hot cloverleaf rolls, which my husband made from scratch. We also enjoyed a lovely glass of Century Red wine from the Biltmore Estate. If you like smoked salmon and are looking for a new way to serve it, I highly recommend this recipe.

Source

Mimi's Smoked Salmon Chowder recipe on Allrecipes.com (our recipe is based on this one).