Elegant Seafood Chowder

Total Time: 25 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 24 hrs Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 3 onions, coarsely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 slices thick bacon, chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups wine
• 1 cup dry sherry
• 2 (28 ounce) cans plum tomatoes (with juice)
• 2 jalapenos, chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon dill
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 small red snapper or 2 small trout
• 1 1/2 lbs firm fleshed fish fillets
• 2 small zucchini
• 1 1/2 lbs mussels
• 1 1/2 lbs small clams
• 1 lb shrimp
• fresh dill, snipped

Recipe

• 1 melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
• 2 add the onions, garlic, and bacon and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
• 3 add the broth, wine, sherry, tomatoes, hot peppers, seasonings and the bay leaf.
• 4 bring to a boil, stirring often and break up the tomatoes.
• 5 place the whole snapper on top.
• 6 cover, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
• 7 stir occasionally, being careful not to break up the fish.
• 8 remove from heat.
• 9 chill in fridge for 1 day.
• 10 reheat, remove snapper and bay leaf from the chowder.
• 11 discard the bay leaf and the heads, bones and skin.
• 12 return the fish pieces to the chowder and place the chowder over medium heat.
• 13 stir frequently until the chowder is piping hot.
• 14 meanwhile, cut the fillets into 1 inch pieces and cut the zucchini into bite sized pieces.
• 15 just 10 minutes before serving stir the fillets into the hot chowder.
• 16 cover and reduce to medium low heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• 17 scrub mussels and clams.
• 18 stir in the shrimp and place mussels and clams on top.
• 19 cover and continue to simmer just until the mussels and clams open.
• 20 this should take around 5 minutes.
• 21 discard any clams or mussels that have not opened.
• 22 ladle into bowls, garnish with dill and serve.