Fish Chowder

(3-4 servings)

Soups, stews, chowders often come to mind whenever I decide it's time to finish off a few food items. The timing was perfect because I had been craving something with fish for a while.

There were a couple of small salmon steaks in the freezer as well as tilapia I wanted to use up. In my refrigerator I found two slices of bacon, a small assortment of vegetables and some leftover white wine.

I wasn't sure about the bacon with fish initially (it was a special smoked bacon), but in the end I thought it was quite good.



2 slices bacon, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 small fennel bulb, chopped (bulb and stems)
4 small red potatoes, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup white wine
2 cups fish broth
1 bay leaf
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp ground sweet paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground hot chilies, or to taste
1 lb fish, cut into bite sized pieces (I used salmon and tilapia)
salt and pepper, to taste
chopped fresh parsley

Place the bacon in a soup pot and turn on the heat to medium. Cook the bacon until it's close to crisp.If the bacon is fatty, you might want to remove some of the rendered fat.

Lower the heat a bit and add the garlic, then onions. Cook for a few minutes until the onions begin to soften. Add the fennel, potatoes, bell pepper, carrots and diced tomatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the wine and broth, then add the bay leaf, fennel seeds, paprika, oregano and chilies. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, but not falling apart.

Add the fish and cook for about 5 minutes or until the fish is done. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Remove the bay leaf. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.