This is a delicious, quick meal that could be made within an hour on a weekday, including prepping time*. In place of chicken use any seafood to make shrimp, fish or crab chowder**. Unlike chicken, add the seafood to the pot after the potatoes are cooked to keep the meat tender. Using fresh corn will enhance the sweetness of the cream and the meat. During the off-season months, use organic frozen corn, for it has a better texture and taste than the non-organic and canned versions. If using fingerling potatoes, slice them. Baby potatoes should be quartered or cut in half, depending on their size. Some people like to peel their potatoes, but this is a weekday meal. Such details can be overlooked in place of saving time. Besides, the visual appearance of red-skinned potatoes provides a nice contrast in a creamy soup. A simple, green salad and a Chardonnay will complete a well-meaning meal.
*Clean and cut chicken on a weekend. Place it in a freezer and defrost before using.
** Buy shrimp raw, clean and devein. Fish should be cut into chucks. Use precooked crabmeat sold in the seafood section.
Ingredients
Olive oil
1 lb. boneless/skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced or cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 green pepper, roughly chopped
2 to 3 stalks of celery, diced
1 lb. baby red skinned potatoes, cleaned and quartered
32 oz. chicken stock
1/4 to 1/2 cup white wine
1 bunch of thyme
3 tbsp. fresh oregano
1 cup Italian parsley, divided
2 bay leaves
crushed red pepper, to taste
1 lb. fresh or frozen corn
1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh cream, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
2. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until done. Remove chicken to separate dish and set aside.
3. Add more olive oil, if needed. Mix in the onions and saute until translucent. Stir in garlic for 30 seconds. Add crushed red pepper, green pepper and celery. Stir until green vegetables soften.
4. Add potatoes, chicken stock, wine, oregano, half the parsley, thyme bundle, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce temperature to let soup simmer until potatoes are done.
5. Add corn and bring soup back to a simmer.
6. Add cream and bring soup back to a simmer. Adjust seasoning. Add remaining parsley.
8. Ladle soup into individual bowls.
Shrimp – Corn Chowder
It’s all so confusing. America’s Test Kitchen is a TV show that supposedly tests everything and then makes its recommendations. They are in Vermont. The show is from Cook’s Illustrated. I too live in a coastal state, Maryland, where live seafood is plentiful. But, they still tell me that it is best to purchase the shrimp frozen because it must be frozen before shipping to any market. On a recent visit to the Eastern Shore one seafood monger told me that unless I pulled the shrimp from the ocean myself then it has been frozen.
Of course in the market the fresh shrimp seems so much more appealing, but knowing that it has probably been frozen and defrosted makes me lean towards the frozen shrimp.
Hey, Abby! Thanks for clarifying the difference between fresh and frozen shrimp. In New York, I know most seafood sold has been previously frozen. Being from a coastal city in Virginia, I’m used to freshly caught seafood of the day. When I find fresh, line-caught seafood that’s never been frozen, the fresh saline smell is nostalgic. Deciding which seafood to use entirely depends on someone’s location. Obviously, if in an urban area (and based on the radio show you have just shared with us), such as New York, it is best to buy frozen shrimp. Those lucky people living near the coast and if they know their fish monger, I would recommend purchasing the fresh caught seafood of the day.
America’s Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated – Shrimp Two Ways – KQED – Aired on Thursday, Oct 01, 2009.
America’s Test Kitchen says this about purchasing shrimp:
00:04:23 it turns out there’s actually quite a lot to know about buying shrimp, a lot of questions, and the first is should you buy shrimp that’s already frozen in the supermarket, or should you buy it fresh?
00:04:38 Well the answer unequivocally is never buy shrimp that’s not frozen when you buy it.
00:04:43 And the reason is, you don’t know how long that shrimp’s been sitting around.
00:04:46 And virtually all shrimp, especially farm-raised shrimp which makes up about 85% of the market, is frozen immediately and then shipped to the market.
00:04:55 So if it’s sitting there fresh, well it used to be frozen.
00:04:58 It may have been defrosted two or three days before.
00:05:00 What about wild shrimp versus farm-raised, like salmon?
00:05:04 Well, only 15% or so of the market is wild shrimp.
00:05:08 And it turns out, we did a taste test of three kinds of shrimp, fresh, wild shrimp like this with the heads, and they’re sold with the heads on, frozen wild shrimp, obviously sold with the heads off, and then farm-raised shrimp that’s frozen.
00:05:22 Well surprisingly, the one we liked the very least, oddly enough, is the fresh, wild shrimp with the heads on.
00:05:29 The reason is, with the head on the shrimp will start to deteriorate more quickly.
00:05:33 When you get it home, you’re gonna end up with mushy shrimp.
00:05:36 We did love the wild shrimp if it’s bought frozen.
00:05:40 But again, that’s hard to find.
00:05:40 So most of the time you’re gonna find farm-raised, frozen shrimp.
Why do you advise purchasing fresh shrimp?