This rich, smoky, and comforting salmon chowder recipe with bacon, leeks, celery, potatoes, broth, and cream is the West Coast’s answer to New England clam chowder.
My mom and dad live down the street from me, just a few houses away. This is wonderfully handy for you who often go to her house to raid her fridge. No, I’m not a teenager, but yes, I still raid her fridge. (You would too, my parents did great leftovers!)
Luckily for mom and dad, the arrangement goes both ways. They stopped by the other day when we had just finished making this salmon soup and happily packed up half of it to take home. The verdict the next day? raves.
Richer and creamier chowder recipes
- Fishsoup
- Clam chowder with corn
- Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder
- Tarragon Corn Soup
- Manhattan clam chowder
From the editors of Simply Recipes
salmon soup
ingredients
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4 ounces baconchopped
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2 cups cleaned, cut Leek (see cleaning leeks)
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1 Cup cut celery
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3 cups rolled Yukon Gold potatoes1 1/2 inch pieces (about 3 medium potatoes, 1 1/2 pounds)
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2 cups chicken broth
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2 1/4 cups water
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1/2 teaspoon Salt
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2 bay leaves
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1 branch thyme
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1 tablespoon butter
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1 to 1 1/4 lb trimmed, skinned, salmon filletcut into 1 inch cubes
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1/2 Cup Corn (optional, use when in season or frozen)
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2 tablespoon all purpose flour (use rice flour if cooking gluten free)
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prize ground black pepper
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3/4 cup (6 ounces) heavy cream
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1/2 teaspoon Lemon peel
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Chopped fresh chives, for garnish
method
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Cook bacon:
Place bacon in a 5 to 6 quart heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat on medium to medium heat.
Cook until lightly browned and most of the fat has drained from the bacon, about 5 to 6 minutes.
Remove all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease. (Don’t put bacon grease down your sink drain, it will clog the pipes.)
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Add celery and leek to bacon:
Add the celery and leeks to the bacon and cook over medium-high heat until tender, about 5 to 6 minutes.
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Add potatoes, broth, water, salt and herbs and let simmer:
Add the diced potatoes, chicken broth, water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, bay leaves, and thyme to the saucepan.
Increase the heat to bring them to a simmer. Then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
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While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the salmon:
Place salmon in a bowl, sprinkle with flour and black pepper. Throw to cover. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat.
Working in batches if necessary, lightly brown the salmon on one side and then brown the other side. (The salmon does not need to be cooked through, just lightly browned.)
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Assemble the chowder and add corn, heavy cream, and lemon zest:
When the potatoes are cooked, use a slotted spoon to add the salmon to the pot with the potatoes, bacon, leeks and broth.
Stir in the corn if using. Boil gently for 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Stir in the cream and lemon zest. Add salt to taste.
Garnish with chives to serve.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 531 | calories |
| 32g | Fat |
| 27g | carbohydrates |
| 33g | protein |
