from The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook 2012
If you think Irish pub food is dull and heavy on the cabbage, think
again: this is a great cookbook that I treated myself to, with wonderful
pictures, and I’ve bookmarked a lot of the recipes and am working my way through them. And of course I have to visit a lot of Irish pubs to make sure the recipes are accurate!
A few weeks ago I found that our local market had started to stock a
new line of fish products: a mixture of shellfish, shrimp and whatever,
flash-frozen. Since this recipe called for a variety of seafood, it was
perfect, and it was exactly the right amount. I figured it had to be a sign
that this dish would be on the menu. |
| I'm a sucker for baby squid (ooh, a pun!) |
It’s a fairly quick and easy recipe—and definitely tasty. I served it with St.
Brigid’s bread, which rounded out a nice meal.
Irish Pub Scallop Chowder
3-1/2 Tblsp butter
9 oz large scallops, quartered
4 bacon strips, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 starchy potatoes (russets or Yukon Gold), diced
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 cups chicken stock (or you could use fish
stock)
2 cups whole milk, scalded
9 oz. mixed cooked seafood (shrimp, mussels, etc. (not fish)
salt and pepper
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium
heat. Add the scallops in batches (not all at once) and cook for 5 minutes,
until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and set aside. [Note: you may find that the scallops release a lot of liquid, which makes it hard to brown them. Don't worry about it--you just want to cook the scallops lightly. The remaining liquid will cook down over the next few steps.]
Add the bacon to the pan and cook for 3-4
minutes, until it starts to brown.
Add the onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes. [I
have a confession to make: I don’t really like celery. I find that if I
include it in a dish—and I know a lot of recipes do!—the result always tastes too much
like celery to me. It’s up to you if you want to include it.] Season with salt and
pepper, then cover and cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables start to
soften.
Add the thyme to the vegetables. Pour in the
stock, cover the pan, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15
minutes, until the vegetables are soft.
Remove the thyme sprigs. Mash a few of the
vegetable with a spoon, to thicken the soup. Pour in the milk (which will already be warm, since you scalded it--a microwave works well for this).
Add the scallops and mixed seafood to the pan.
Cook until they are heated through but don=t let the
mixture boil.
Serve in warm bowls.
Ah, yes, the book: An Early Wake, third in the County Cork Mysteries, released February 3rd.
#10 in Barnes & Nobles mass market mysteries! #12 in all Barnes & Noble mass market books! And! (Drumroll, please) #10 on the New York Times Mass Market Bestseller list!
The reviews have been so lovely. I'm thrilled that I've been able to make readers "see" Ireland the way I do, and now they want to visit. It's worth the trip!
