Written by Jim
This simple recipe works with different types of fresh fish, used in conjunction with early growth staples. Get your vegetables at the Farmer’s Market right outside our door on Wednesdays and Saturdays! Most fish for us will work just fine, but ask us! I am a big fan of Alaskan Coho, Atlantic Salmon or Norwegian Sea Trout for this recipe.
The inspiration here was a chowder made with chicken and developed by Hank Shaw, whose website and recipes are well chosen and highly recommended. Most chowders feel like they should be served a Guinness in a Bar Harbor pub while waiting for the incoming December nor’easter. That’s not it. It is light and has a good light. Perfect for a partly cloudy 55 degree Fall early morning in Michigan.
You have some flexibility in terms of the outcome of this. If you do it as written you will end up with a lot of soup in very little broth. Do you want it? Use more stock. Want more mouthfeel? Mix a little more. You can also replace oregano with fish sauce, cream with coconut milk, and Cholula with Thai oil or Sriracha and have nother’ thing! No matter how you do it, enjoy this last burst of local summer fare!
How many servings do I need?
2 Medium Poblano Peppers – Roasted, peeled and chopped
Olive oil
3 Ears of Sweet Corn – Cobs removed, cobs broken in half and reserved
2 Pints Homemade or Monahan’s Fish Stock
1 Medium White or Yellow Onion (about a cup) – Chopped
2 or 3 cloves Garlic – Roughly minced
1 Salmon – Skin and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 tablespoons of dried Mexican Oregano
½ Cup Heavy Cream
Salt and Pepper
Hot Sauce – Shout out to me on this one
Chopped scallion
Lime wedges
How do I do it?
Roast your whole poblanos. There are many ways to do this (some more fun than others): cooked; heat it in a cast iron pan or directly on your gas burner (like Giovani does in our kitchen!); cook them at high heat on your gas grill; or stab them with a kebab skewer and blow them with a propane torch. Either way check and turn them often. Either way, you want your peppers to be the same blistered with some blotchy black spots. If some of the meat burns, don’t worry about it. When you’re done, put the peppers in a brown paper bag and wrap them up to keep them warm. When it’s cool enough to handle, remove the burned skin using your fingers or a paper towel and wash yourself. Then remove the seeds and veins and cut the roast meat.
While your chili is cooling, combine your fish stock and your 3 corn cob halves in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil and let it simmer until ready to use. Add water as needed to replace evaporated stock and more.
In a large, heavy pan (you’ll need a soup pot or dutch oven if you’re making a large version of the recipe) heat the olive oil and cook your onions over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally until they start to soften and take on a little color – maybe 12 minutes. Add your poblanos, season again, and saute for another 3 or 4 minutes, then add the garlic until fragrant – another minute.
Add the stock to the vegetables. Then add salmon, corn on the cob, oregano, and lots of fresh pepper. Bring the soup to a boil and return to a simmer. Cook for about 7 to 10 minutes or until the salmon is done (still plump and tender, but with a consistent coral color all the way through). Add the cream. Blend the soup with a few blasts from a hand blender to thicken the texture slightly. Or remove a cup or so from a regular blender, beat a few times and come back (however, be careful, hot food in blenders can get. dice). Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning.
Serve with lime wedge, scallions, and hot sauce. Plate next to the last tomatoes of the season and basil or fresh oregano with salt and pepper. My wife is fine gluten so skip the bread, but a baguette would be good (isn’t it always?). Drinking? Dos Equis Amber would be good. So any kind of bubbly wine type thing in the middle – see our friends at Everyday Wine! I went with Hi Neighbor from Narragansett Brewery in Rhode Island. Hello!
