Week 13 of the Recipe Challenge

52 weeks - 52 recipe books - 52 new recipes 

Inspired by  The Grumbling Tummy

 

Week 13 - The Good Housekeeping Cookery Club (Fish & Shellfish) - Smoked Haddock Chowder

It was agreed that a trip to the fishmonger was in order so what better book to get off the shelf than "Fish and Shellfish". I didn't get very far before salivating at the idea of a tasty smoked haddock chowder. This soup has to be the Queen of what I class 'main course soups'. Accompanied by some warm crusty bread, a hearty bowl of this soup will fair fill you up!

I don't think I've ever actually used this recipe, last time I just threw a few things in the pot and to be honest it was a tad bland. That may have also been down to the spupermarket smoked fish which is nowhere near on a par with fresh fish from the fishmongers. We are lucky to have a local fishmonger on hand and his produce is simply fantastic. He also lets me have the fish bones to make my own stock although I was lucky this week to get one as the 'lobster pot man' had been in and cleared the fishmonger out. Last time I got a whole halibut carcuss which made a very rich stock, this time some bream made a more subtle stock.

Anyway, back to the book. The recipe was a doddle and the end result was fantastic. A couple of tweaks (I prefer to make a healthy option so I used semi-skimmed milk, no butter and my fresh homemade stock). I also prefer frozen to tinned sweetcorn however I bought this book at the end of the 80s when tinned veg was still "all the rage"!

This book is actually part of a set of 13 books which I bought when I started work some twenty-or-something years ago. A lovely guy used to come into the office once a month with a selection of books for sale and at the time I couldn't resist. The books have been well used and I am sure a few more will crop up over the course of this challenge. I think you can still buy them, but not part of a colourful hardback set like I am lucky enough to have.