Manhattan Fish Chowder
- Comments()
- Prep Time 45 minutes
- Total Time 1 hour
- Yield Serves 6 as a main course
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise (1 cup)
- 1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes in juice
- 2 bottles (8 ounces each) clam juice
- 2 medium baking potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 pound skinless tilapia fillets, cut into 2-inch chunks
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
Directions
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In a large 5-quart pot or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium-low heat until browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Spoon off and discard all but 1 tablespoon fat. Add onion and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juice (breaking tomatoes up with a spoon), clam juice, and 1 1/2 cups water; bring to a boil.
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Add potatoes and thyme; reduce heat to simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, but not falling apart, 15 to 20 minutes.
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Add tilapia; cover, and cook until opaque and flaky, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. With a ladle, spoon solids and liquid into six soup bowls; serve immediately.
Cook's Note
Tilapia fillets have one thick side and one thinner side. To cut tilapia, halve the fillets along the center line before cutting them into chunks.
I don't like tilapia because it's a garbage fish (farm-raised in nasty conditions). Substitute any white fish, even a can of high-quality salmon, the kind with just meat, no bones. I'm sure Martha would never use tilapia for herself.
I don't care for clam juice and it is just expensive, so I use chicken broth. Instead of a pound of Tilapia, I prefer to use a small can of lump crapmeat and few shrimp and some flash frozen Pollock. About 6 oz of each of the three.
Awesome recipe. I like to use unpeeled red skin potatoes or white beans in place of the peeled baking potatoes. Thick-cut bacon works best, and it's great with Tabasco!
This dish tasted so wonderful and was perfect to serve on a colder day along with toasted italian bread. We love to eat tilapia, and now I have another great recipe I can make with the leftovers from the night before.