Amanda Doucette, the star of my new mystery suspense series,
is a former international aid worker who has never settled down long enough or
had the patience to learn to cook anything but the basics. In her travels, however,
she has sampled cuisine from around the world and loves new experiences in food
as much as in life. In FIRE IN THE STARS, the first book chronicling her
adventures, she is in Newfoundland trying to help a fellow aid worker who has
gone missing with his young son, and in one scene she finds herself in a
spectacular lighthouse restaurant in Saint Anthony at the rugged northern tip
of the island. She has teamed up with an off-duty RCMP corporal Chris Tymko who
is also a friend of the missing man and equally worried about his state of
mind.
Against the backdrop of soaring gray cliffs and crashing
ocean surf, they share bowls of the Lightkeeper’s Restaurant’s famous seafood
chowder. I myself, in the interests of research, sat at their very table by the
window, looking out over those same roiling seas and sampling the same chowder.
I can attest that it is delicious. Seafood chowder is a mainstay of
Newfoundland and east coast cooking, and can be as variable as the ingredients
the cook has on hand. It’s hearty, thick, and puts meat on the bones, and as
long as you can lay your hands on some seafood – an easy feat in Newfoundland –
and have some root vegetables in your pantry, you are good to go.
Below is the variation on the chowder that Amanda would make,
if she ever stayed put near a kitchen long enough to prepare it. Maybe some day
…
Classic Newfoundland Seafood Chowder
1 lb. cod
1 lb. medium shrimp
½ lb. scallops
Half dozen clams or mussels in the shell for garnish
(optional)
1 cup each of carrots, onions, and celery, all diced
3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
¾ cup butter
¾ cup flour
4 cups seafood or vegetable stock
1 cup heavy cream
3 cups whole milk
1-2 tsp. savory, finely chopped, fresh if possible
Small bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh sprigs of parsley for garnish
1.
Have all ingredients ready at hand, for you’ll
be busy. In a LARGE pot, melt ¼ cup butter and sauté celery, carrots and onions
together on medium heat for about 7 minutes. Add pepper and salt.
2.
Add remaining ½ cup butter, melt, and stir in
the ¾ cup flour to make a thick paste. Distribute well and cook briefly,
stirring to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn or brown.
3. Gradually add the 4 cups of stock, stirring well
throughout to ensure it blends and doesn’t lump. I used half chicken and half
vegetable stock because prepared fish stock is hard to find. If you’re into
making your own fish stock, you’re way ahead of Amanda and me.
4.
Bring the mixture to a soft boil, stirring often
to prevent sticking. You will think it is much too thick, but it won’t be. Add
diced potatoes and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes depending on the size of the
potato and carrot chunks. They shouldn’t be completely cooked.
5.
Add cream and milk gradually, stirring gently,
and bring to a very soft simmer. Do not boil, because that may curdle the milk.
Add bay leaf and savory, cut or cumbled into small bits.
6.
Cut cod into one-inch chunks and scallops if
they are large. Add cod, scallops, and shrimps to the pot and return to a
gentle simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally but carefully so the cod
doesn’t break up. Test and add pepper and salt to taste.
7.
Meanwhile, steam clams in butter and ¼ cup of
liquid – I used white wine and some of the broth.
8.
Serve chowder with garnish of parsley and clams,
add a buttered roll and a glass of wine, and voila! A full meal!
This is a real meal in a bowl and can be made with whatever
seafood and vegetables are at hand. A real Newfoundlander might add
scrunchions, a delicacy of crisply fried, diced salt pork, as a garnish instead
of clams and parsley, but if that’s hard to come by elsewhere than The Rock,
you can substitute bacon for (almost) as good an effect. Newfoundlanders
traditionally added scrunchion toppings to many of their meals, which were variants
of bland white fish and bland white potatoes.
This recipe makes a large pot that probably would feed a
dozen, and it’s great for leftovers. It can be halved or doubled without
problems. It is adapted from The Wicked Scoff, a food blogger originally from
Newfoundland and now living in New England.
Fire in the Stars, the first book in the Amanda Doucette mystery suspense series, will be out in Sept.! To win a copy, please leave a comment. The winner will receive a copy of Fire in the Stars as soon as it's out!
Fire in the Stars, the first book in the Amanda Doucette mystery suspense series, will be out in Sept.! To win a copy, please leave a comment. The winner will receive a copy of Fire in the Stars as soon as it's out!
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