Salmon Corn Chowder with Lemon & Thyme

I love chowders. Clam chowder is my go-to winter comfort food.

Fish chowders are not something I’ve had a lot of. Not because I don’t like them, but I live far, far away from the ocean and you just don’t find fish chowders as an option in most Utah restaurants.

Today I just happened to have a pound of salmon sitting in my fridge.

Not enough to feed my family as an entree. It needed to be stretched further than that.

Ah ha! The perfect opportunity to make my own fish chowder!(Or you could just buy fish specifically for that purpose. If you like to get all fancy with your ability to plan ahead. I just like to fly by the seat of my pants. Sometimes.)

This soup is mostly broth based, with some heavy cream added in at the end.

It has all the traditional chowder components: Onion, Corn, Potatoes, Herbs, Cream.

And one that is not so traditional:

Lemon.

I have to tell you, it is absolutely amazing what lemon zest does in a fish chowder.

It brightens things up in the best way possible.

Even my two year old told me it was “the best soup ever”.

I made double the amount needed to feed my family and there was not a drop leftover.

Well, except for the bowl I hid in the vegetable drawer, covered with a bag of green onions.

I have problems.

I know.

Salmon Corn Chowder with Lemon & Thyme

 

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Serves: Serves 8-10

Ingredients

• 2 T. Olive Oil
• 1 small Yellow Onion, diced
• 4 Stalks Celery, diced
• 5 large White or Yellow Potatoes, diced small(1/4"), skin on
• 2 t. Fresh Thyme
• 1 t. Kosher Salt
• 2 dashes Nutmeg
• ⅓ . Flour
• 6 C. Chicken Broth
• 1 lb. Frozen Sweet White Corn (or fresh, if you can find it!)
• Zest of ¾ Lemon
• 1 C. Heavy Cream
• 1 lb. Salmon, skinned, pin bones removed, cut into ½" cubes
• 2 Green Onions, chopped

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a stockpot on medium/high heat.
2. Add the onion, celery, potato, thyme, salt, and nutmeg to the oil and saute for 10 minutes. *the smaller you dice your potatoes, the quicker they will cook.
3. When the potatoes have started to soften, add the flour to the pot and stir to coat the vegetables.
4. Cook the flour mixture for 1 minute.
5. Add 2 C. of the chicken broth and stir well, bringing to a boil.
6. Add the remaining chicken broth to the pot, along with the corn, and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are soft.
7. Add the lemon zest and heavy cream to the soup and bring back to a simmer.
8. Add the salmon to the soup and mix in.
9. Let simmer gently for 3-4 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through. Stir gently so that the salmon does not break up to much.
10. Remove the pan from the heat and gently stir in the green onion.
11. Enjoy!

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