I don’t know about you, but I love turning to classic comfort foods to both celebrate special moments and to get through hard times and nothing is more comforting than a hearty bowl of chowder.

For Bugsy’s first Father’s Day, I prepared a dinner menu of his favorites and decided a classic fish chowder would perfect the meal. With limited ingredients on hand, I used items I luckily had available to create a classic New England style chowder and was so pleased with the results that I had to share this super simple recipe with you.

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 40 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 3 cups chicken or fish broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/s teaspoon of thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds cod, or other firm white fish, pin bones removed, fillets cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 cup of shrimp, peeled and deveined (or any other seafood of your choice, like crab or lobster meat, clams, etc.).
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (best if not substituted with light cream, half and half or milk, which will require a thickening agent like flour or may curdle if too hot).
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

• Heat oil and butter in the bottom of a large pot on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened and caramelized, about 5 minutes.
• Add the wine and turn up the heat, cook, uncovered until the wine reduces by half.
• Add potatoes, fish or chicken broth and spices (note: potatoes should be just covered with liquid in the pot. If not, add water).
• Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to medium and cook, covered, until the potatoes are almost soft, about 10-15 minutes.
• Heat cream in a separate pot until steamy, but not boiling.
• Add heated cream to soup.
• Add fish and seafood and cook on low heat, uncovered until the fish and seafood is just cooked through, about 10 minutes.
• Mix in parsley before serving with crusty bread or oyster crackers.

Bon Appétit!

LOVE-M.Y.

Let me know how you like the recipe in the comments below!