Seafood Chowder With Saffron
If you love seafood, this chowder is sure to delight with it's complex flavors and short cooking time. Be sure to serve it with crusty bread to soak up all the broth.
Ingredients
- 4 fillets cod about 4 oz each
- 1/2 lb shrimp deveined, shells and tail removed
- 1/2 lb mussels
- 1/2 cup shallot diced
- 2 cloves garlic diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus more
- 1 tsp coriander
- 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp saffron
- 4 cups chicken broth plus more if needed*
- 10.5 oz can white clam sauce/juice
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes undrained
- 15.5 oz can cannellini or northern beans drained
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
- 1 1/2 cups baby spinach, lightly packed optional
- Fresh thyme leaves for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- If your cod or shrimp are frozen, run them under cold running water for 15-20 minutes, or until thawed.
- Meanwhile, dice the shallot and garlic, and measure out your spices for ease of use later.
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or large sauce pot over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add shallot, garlic, coriander and thyme sprigs. Sauté, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until shallots are translucent.
- Add saffron and stir to combine for 1 minute. If needed, add additional olive oil to keep the combination from sticking to the Dutch oven.
- Add chicken broth, clam juice/sauce, and diced tomatoes. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Add drained beans, salt, pepper, lemon juice and hot sauce, if using. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Increase the heat to medium. Nestle the cod into the broth, ensuring that each fillet is fully covered by liquid. Cover and cook for 2 minutes without stirring.
- Add shrimp, mussels and baby spinach, stirring as little as possible to keep the cod fillets intact. Add additional broth or water to ensure all of the seafood is immersed. Cover and cook 5 minutes until shrimp is pink, mussels have opened, and the cod is flakey.*
- Taste broth and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Removed thyme sprigs, if used. Serve with crusty bread and garnish with fresh thyme leaves, if desires.
Notes
*You may need additional broth or water to ensure the seafood is entirely covered during the final cooking phase.
*To ensure the cod is completely cooked, you may need to break apart a larger fillet to test its doneness. However, the fillets do tend to break apart on their own.