Bisques, Chowders and Gumbos

Living in New England, I have been lucky enough to try dozens of different chowders – from clam to lobster, fish and corn. I prefer the creamy ‘New England’ chowders to brothy ‘Rhode Island’ or tomato-basted ‘Manhattan’ varieties. Interestingly, some of the best of New England creamy chowders can be found on Block Island, a small island off the Atlantic coast of Rhode Island, where a yearly competition keeps the chowder tradition alive and well.

Varieties are endless – whole books have been written on chowders alone. Like New England chowders, bisques are creamy often seafood based – think lobster bisque. Creamy soups of French origin, bisques often include tomato and sherry, and tend to be more richly colored and flavored than the more subtle New England chowders.

These seafood chowders and bisques are based on a roux foundation – flour cooked in oil or butter – making these soups rich and creamy. Gumbos, a southern cousin of the chowder and bisque are also based on a roux. But in gumbos the roux is cooked far longer, to render it nutty and much darker brown.

New England Style Seafood Chowder
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup flour
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp butter
3 cups milk
1 8-oz bottle clam juice
1 lb fish, such as scrod, cod or halibut
½ lb shrimp, shelled
1 tsp dried dill

Sauté onion, carrot and celery in a bit of canola oil in a pot over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until vegetables soften. Add garlic and continue cooking another minute. Set vegetables aside in a bowl. Add the oil and butter in the same pot and melt the butter. Add the flour and cook about 3-4 minutes with stirring, until the roux bubbles and begins to brown slightly. Add the milk and clam juice and bring nearly to a boil, stirring often as soup thickens. Return vegetables, fish, shrimp and dill to the chowder and cook about another 3-5 minutes, until the seafood is cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Curried Corn and Mushroom Chowder
8 dried Shitake mushrooms
10 oz fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 Bermuda onion, diced
1½ cups sweet corn, frozen is fine
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp canola oil
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken stock
2 tsp. curry powder
1 large Yukon Gold potato, diced into ½-inch pieces

Soak the shitake mushrooms in hot water for about fifteen minutes. Meanwhile in a soup pot, sauté the onion and mushrooms in a bit of olive oil. Put half the corn in a food processor, and purée with ½ cup of the milk. Drain and dice the shitake mushrooms and add to the onions. Sauté another few minutes. Remove mushroom mixture to a bowl.

Melt butter in the pot and whisk in the flour. Fry the flour for a few minutes while whisking almost continuously. Whisk in the milk, and add all the remaining ingredients, including the mushrooms. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat to a simmer. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook about fifteen more minutes, until the potatoes are just tender, stirring occasionally.

Seafood Bisque
1 yellow new potato, diced ¼-inch
1 large or 2 small onions
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1½ cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
2 8-oz bottles clam juice
1 Tbsp tomato paste
¼ cup Cream Sherry
½ lb salmon, cubed, ½-inch
½ lb pollock, cubed, ½-inch
½ lb small shrimp, peeled
1 Tbsp chives, minced

Lightly boil the potato in salted water only until just undercooked. Drain and set aside. Sauté the onion in the butter and oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook 2-3 minutes until the flour has been well incorporated and stops bubbling. Add the garlic and continue cooking another minute. Add the milk, broth, clam juice, tomato paste and sherry, and whisk to a boil. Return to a simmer and cooked until thickened. Add the seafood and cooked potatoes and cook for another 3-5 minutes, until seafood is cooked through. Stir in chives.

An alternative to the chicken broth is a cup of water in which the shrimp shells have been simmered for about 20 minutes. This shrimp stock adds a great deal of flavor to any fish soup.

Louisiana Gumbo
½ lb. boneless chicken, cut into ½-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
½ lb Andouille sausage, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup flour
¼ cup canola oil
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tsp Louisiana Essence spice mix
2 cups chicken stock
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Tabasco sauce as desired
½ lb. small peeled shrimp

In a soup pot over medium-high heat, sauté the chicken pieces in a bit of olive oil stirring often, for about 3-5 minutes – just until the chicken is cooked through. Remove to a bowl. Add celery, pepper and onion and cook over medium heat for three minutes, adding a bit more oil if necessary. Add the sausage and continue cooking another 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and finish cooking another minute. Remove to a bowl, scraping up all the fine bits at the bottom of the pot.

Add the flour and canola oil to the pot and cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes, whisking regularly. This roux should become much darker than a roux for a white sauce or a chowder – it should be at least the color of peanut butter, or darker. Stir in the rub spice mixture. Return the vegetables to the roux and add the broth, tomatoes, and Worcestershire sauce. Add the beans. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, covered for about 20 minutes, stirring often. Add the shrimp. Return to a boil, stirring. Remove from heat and season with Tabasco, salt an pepper to taste. Serve surrounding a mound of white rice in a shallow bowl.

Louisiana Essence
This can be rubbed into fish, chicken or meat before searing in a hot pan. It seasons soups and gumbos as well.

1Tbsp garlic powder
1Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp powdered thyme (or dried if you don’t have powdered)
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tsp brown sugar