Seafood chowder in a Sourdough bread bowl

If you have ever had the clam chowder in San Francisco then you will enjoy this.

It’s the closest recipe I have found and is a real crowd pleaser when we serve it.

Ingredients:

4              Sour Dough Bread Bowls. (Large bread rolls with hard crust will suffice)
1              cup shelled & chopped clams
½             onion, chopped
2              shallot, minced
4              cloves crushed garlic
3              stalks celery, chopped
6              bay leaves
1              tablespoon oregano
1              tablespoon thyme
1              finely diced potato
400 ml thickened cream
800 ml milk
2              tablespoons flour
3              cups fish stock
1              tablespoon butter
4              tablespoons corn flour
250g     fish pieces (fillets of bream)
250g     Shelled and chopped prawns or crab meat
salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste

Method:

• Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat; add olive oil, then onion, garlic, shallot and celery. Gently sauté until they are fragrant.
• Add clams bay leaves, thyme and oregano, gently sauté three to four minutes.
• Add diced potatoes, fish pieces, prawns and fish stock, cook until potatoes are soft.
• Stir in heavy cream, milk and flour that has diluted with water.
• Season with salt and pepper. Simmer uncover until the cream become thick about 8-10 minutes.
• Add cornflour one tablespoon at a time, diluted in water, into the mixture to thicken to desired consistency.
• Adjust with salt and pepper if necessary. Remove and discard bay leaves.

Serve hot in a bowl of sourdough bread immediately.