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Smoked Salmon Chowder

Course Main
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6
Author Lemons & Anchovies

Ingredients

  • 14 ounces red new potatoes
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 3 stalks celery diced
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 - 4 cups clam juice or water
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 - 3 cups milk half and half, low fat or regular (See Note)
  • 4 ounces cream cheese I used two tablespoons
  • 1/4 cup capers rinsed and drained
  • 12 ounces smoked salmon or 8 ounces smoked and 4 ounces regular salmon
  • salt or no-salt seasoning to taste

Instructions

  1. Prepare the potatoes: scrub and rinse and boil until barely tender, about 6-7 minutes. Drain and dice when cool enough to handle. Set aside.
  2. In a stock pot, heat the two tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and sauté until they are translucent, five to seven minutes. Add the garlic and black pepper and cook for an additional minute.
  3. Add the remaining two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle the flour a little at a time. Cook for about five minutes over medium heat to eliminate the floury flavor.
  4. Add the tomato paste, water/clam juice and potatoes to the pot. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for six to eight minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Stir in the milk, cream cheese (if using), capers and salmon. Keep the heat at medium until the soup hits a simmer. Turn off the heat and taste for seasoning. Add salt or no-salt seasoning as needed. Garnish with parsley if you like and serve hot with bread.

Recipe Notes

The original recipe calls for roughly six cups of liquid. In order to lighten this up to suit my family I used 4 1/2 cups of clam juice/water and 1 1/2 cups half and half. Feel free to adjust to your taste.