Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Cajun Catfish (or other fish!) Chowder recipe

Hello gentlemen,
Hope all is well with you! Since it's been cold and snowy I've gotten in a soup-making mood! Thought you might enjoy this one.... it has some heat to it!

Cajun Catfish Chowder
Ingredients:
4 strips of bacon, (or more if you're like me)
2 cups onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
3 Tb all-purpose flour
1 Tb garlic, minced (about 1 clove)
1/2 tsp each of cayenne pepper, paprika, dried thyme, oregano, and basil
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 (8oz) bottles of Clam juice
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups red potatoes, diced fairly small
1 Tb Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp (or more!) Tabasco
4 catfish fillets (I've used trout, also)
2 Tb cajun seasoning (or coat fish with your favorite spicy fish fry seasoning)
1 cup heavy cream (I've tried using lighter alternatives but the soup never will thicken for me if I don't use heavy cream)
1/4 cup scallions, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
lemon juice, optional to sprinkle over when finished

Directions:
-Preheat oven 475 degrees.

- Saute bacon in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat until crispy; drain on paper towels and set aside. Pour off all but 2 Tb drippings (or add a little olive oil if you used turkey bacon and don't have enough drippings... which defeats the purpose of using turkey bacon, I guess!)

Saute onions and celery in pan drippings until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, garlic, and other seasonings (except the cajun seasoning); cook about 1 minute.

-add the sherry, stirring quite often, until the sherry has mostly evaporated. Add clam juice, broth, potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes.

-Sprinkle fish with the cajun seasoning and bake on a baking sheet sprayed with Pam cooking spray. Roast about 15 minutes.
*I prefer to use Zattaran's fish fry coating and saute the fish in a little olive oil.

-Add heavy cream to soup and stir to warm completely. Combine scallions, parsley, and reserved bacon (crumple)into a small bowl.

Ladle soup into bowls, top with a fish fillet, garnish with bacon mixture, and ENJOY!

Hope you like it!
Stacy

This looks like a candidate for the Pond Boss Magazine receipe page.

Bing

Thanks Bing, That's quite sweet!