Seafood Chowder

I got back from Boston with a craving for MORE CHOWDER. I really should have a go at making a cob loaf to serve this in, but homemade breadmaker sourdough will have to suffice until the weather is cool enough to switch the oven on. This is also not as heart-attack-inducing as a proper Boston seafood chowder and can be eaten as lunch or dinner without pre-charging the defibrillator. If you want to up the ante, double the flour, reduce the stock to the absolute minimum that covers the vegetables, and top up with double the listed amount of the thickest cream you can find, just before serving. I can never make just enough for two so this (with bread) will do for four people.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion or leek
• 100g lardons OR smoked fish
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 stick celery
• 3 potatoes
• a bay leaf
• 1 tbsp flour
• 750ml litre chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 corn cobs, or a tin of sweet corn
• 500g marinara mix (a mix of white fish, salmon, squid, peeled prawns, and mussels)
• 200ml thickened or double cream
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• a bunch of fresh parsley

Method:
Peel or clean and finely chop the onion or leek. Fry in a deep pan in a little butter or olive oil until translucent and soft. If using the lardons, add at the same time as the onions, so they cook and turn golden. (Don't add smoked fish at this stage!) Meanwhile, dice the carrot, celery and potatoes (no need to peel them). Add the vegetables and the bay leaf to the cooked onions, stir in the flour, then pour over the stock; bring up to a simmer and then allow the vegetables to cook to just past al dente -- about 10-12 minutes. If you like your potato to be falling apart, cook a little longer. Slice the corn off the cob (or drain the tin) and add, along with the marinara mix, and the smoked fish if using. Bring back up to temperature and allow to cook through, a matter of minutes for the fish and the corn. (Be particularly careful not to boil any squid in the marinara mix for more than 30 seconds, or it will go tough!) Once the fish is cooked through, stir in the cream and bring back up to temperature, but do not allow the chowder to boil. Serve in a cob or in bowls, scattered over with finely chopped parsley.

Leek and Goat's Cheese Quiche

Very much borrowing from Delia's recipe here, except that I majorly cheat by using ready-bought pastry, and I omit the spring onions as I think I'm weirdly sensitive to them, and prefer not to use them when the dish is full of subtle flavours. I cooked this as soon as I got home, and it took me about an hour, with another ten minutes waiting for the quiche to cool down - utterly vital so that the quiche cuts and serves cleanly, but usually I find I am hungriest when I have nothing to do but wait. Luckily writing this blog means I can burn a few minutes taking photos :)

My pastry is not as neat as Delia's.

You'll need a 7-8" quiche tin, preferably with a removable base, and it helps to have a baking sheet to place it on so that you can move it in and out of the oven easily. This serves four, and is great with salad, steamed veg, or baked tomatoes. Have a few boiled, buttered new potatoes as well, if you're very hungry.

Ingredients:

• 350g ready-made shortcrust pastry, chilled
• 2 leeks
• 200g soft sharp goats cheese
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 200 ml crème fraîche

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Roll out the pastry on a lightly-floured surface until you can place your quiche tin inside, and have at least four inches of pastry all around the edge. Lift the pastry into the tin, and ease it down into the corners. Trim off some of the biggest excess, but leave a good two inches more than the edge of the tin, as it shrinks a lot in the oven. Brush the sides and base with a little beaten egg and fork the base, then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden-brown all over.

Meanwhile, top, tail and slice the leeks lengthwise, and rinse under running water, fanning the leaves apart to remove any dirt. Finely slice and fry in a heavy frying pan in a little olive oil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very wilted and beginning to caramelise. Remove from the heat, and break up the goats cheese into large pieces. Briskly stir the eggs and cream together in a jug, until well-combined, and season well with black pepper.

Place the leeks and cheese into the pastry casing, and pour over the egg and cream mixture, scraping out any extra with a spatula. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until puffed and golden-brown. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing - you can do it!