Happy Friday Button Family!! I don't know about you, but it's been a loooooooooong week. There was LOTS of cutting leather and fabric, dying, sewing, writing 'thank you' notes and processing shipments. Sometimes I don't even know where the energy comes from but every time it ALL gets done! It's ike the Most High reaches over and gives me a little taste of superhero strength! So after slaying in the studio all day, I thoroughly enjoy going into the kitchen to be creative in an entirely different way. I'm usually smelling leather ALL DAY so I enjoy the diverse smells I get while cooking. And I actually do smell everything! I think growing up it may have annoyed my mother just a bit that I would smell the spoonful of food as she announced, "taste this" every SINGLE time! But my theory has always been, if my nose doesn't like it...most times my tongue won't either. It's a lot easier to get rid of the smell in my nose than the taste in my mouth. LOL!
On to this beautiful chowder.......
I've only recently fell in love with leeks but the truth is this was my first time preparing them on my own. My sister says that our mother would make them all the time....but I literally can't remember EVER eating them. Maybe that was during the "I don';t like that" stage (although I had never even tried "that" before). Since I typically make a weekly trip to the farmers market to get my produce. the adult me has challenged myself to grab a new vegetable every week that I have either never eaten or prepared myself, and learn how to cook with it. Not only does it makes me so much more creative in the kitchen but I found that I like waaaaaaaay more than I thought! LOL! This week I chose LEEKS. My imagination took off and the next thing you know I'm making the most delicious chowders ever! I wanted nothing but this dish for the next three days.!
Salmon + leeks + potoatos + corn = HEAVEN
First, I had to educate myself on prepping the leeks before I began cooking with them. Although they grow above ground, they still can be quite dirty, so it's really important to make sure they are clean so you don't have grit in your dish. Here's how I prepared the leeks.
Since I was going to be the only one enjoying this chowder, I ended up only using two leeks. I started with choppin off the top dark green part, leaving the lighter green....and also a little off the bottom where the roots are.
Next, I sliced them in half, then into half inch pieces and put them into a water bath to clean off the dirt. I made sure to break up the layers of the leeks....I saw some dirt hiding in there!
Strain and that's it.....clean leeks! I got so wrapped up in preparing this chowder that I ended up totally forgetting to take pictures of the cooking process But the steps are really easy and I don't think a visual is neccessary. I chopped a couple of potatoes in about one inch cubes and set them aside.
First I sauteed the leeks in olive oil until they started to soften and then I added minced garlic and cooked a short time longer making sure not to let the garlic to burn.
Next, I added the potatoes and enough chicken stock to make sure all the vegetables were fully emersed. I seasoned with salt and pepper and allow everything to simmer until fully cooked. Towards the end I added fresh corn. I wanted them cooked but not so soft you don't notice them.
In the meantime, I prepared the salmon by cutting them into chunks and seasoning with salt and pepper. I seared the salmon just until a light crust formed.
Once the potatoes and leeks were tender I took a potato masher and mashed away, making sure I left some bigger chunks of the potatoes. If I had of used a little more potatoes, I could have stopped right here because mashing is helping to thicken the chowder. But mine was still a little to liquidy, so I made a small amount of roux using the liquid from the soup and a little flour. I let it cook a little longer and it thickened up perfectly. Lastly, I added a big dallop of crème fraiche, the seared salmon and fresh parsley let it simmer for just a few minutes more. Spooned a hefty amount into my favorite bowl and garnished with some parsley. Done!
I suggest to serve your chowder with some crusty bread, crackers or sesame sticks (because that's what I had on hand) and ENJOY!
This chowder was soooooooo good! My favorite part was the leeks and how they melted in my mouth. The flavor is similar to onion but more mild. Perfect! I don't know why but when I think of chowder I usually want to add some sort of cheese in it. I'm not sure if chowders normally do, but this didn't need it AT ALL! I will most definitely be making this soup again....and again! If you decide to take a crack at it, let me know how yours turns out!
If you enjoyed this dinner idea.....check out some of my other dishes on my YouTube Channel!
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