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Years ago, my husband Jack lived in Gloucester, Massachusetts – a coastal city located north of Boston and famous for its thriving fishing industry, as well as a popular summer destination for tourists. During that time, Jack often ate at a restaurant called Halibut Point Restaurant & Bar, named after its proximity to Halibut Point State Park – a granite quarry with breathtaking views that overlook the Atlantic Ocean.
Halibut Point, the restaurant, was a casual, local hangout and the perfect place to enjoy some great outdoor dining with friends. On the menu was the most delicious Italian Fish Chowder that Jack absolutely fell in love with – so much so that his usual meal was a cup of this fantastic chowder along with fried calamari and hot peppers.
Jack, to this day, still dreams about that Italian fish chowder (Gloucester is about a two hour drive from where we live now, so unfortunately, we don’t get up there very often!) and he recently set out to recreate it at home. It’s a super delicious chowder with a spicy (but not too spicy) tomato base flavored with onions, peppers and celery plus tender chunks of halibut (or cod) and potatoes.
Served with some warm, crusty bread, this Italian fish chowder is a taste of coastal New England in a bowl! I can totally understand why Jack loves it so much – and we’re sure you will love it too!
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Italian Fish Chowder
The restaurant that inspired this recipe served grated Parmesan cheese at the table, but Jack always passed on it because he likes the clean taste of the fish and tomato. You may however put some freshly grated Parmesan on your chowder if you prefer. Also this chowder is traditionally made without potatoes. If you omit the potatoes, cook the chowder for about ten minutes instead of twenty, then add two full pounds of fish instead of the pound and a quarter.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup finely diced salt pork (rinse all visible salt before dicing)
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1/3 cup diced celery
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- Big pinch red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dry oregano
- 1 tablespoon fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, minced
- 3/4 pound peeled, diced new red potatoes
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 4 cups strong fish stock or 4 cups bottle clam juice with one teaspoon clam base or any other strong stock such as lobster or shrimp
- 1 28–ounce can crushed tomato (we like Cento)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/4 pounds fresh cod or halibut cut into one inch chunks.
- Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Place salt pork and olive oil in a medium to large heavy bottomed pot. Cook over medium high heat until the salt pork is rendered and slightly brown.
- Add onions, peppers and celery and sauté three to five minutes or until celery is tender. Add garlic and sauté one more minute.
- Add red pepper, thyme, oregano, parsley and diced potatoes. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add wine and cook until the wine has reduced by half.
- Add fish stock, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper and stir.
- Reduce to medium and cook about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
- Taste and adjust seasoning then add the fish. Gently stir and cook over medium heat for about two to three minutes or until fish is cooked through. Do not stir too much or you will break apart the fish.
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Dianne Fischbach says
Hi! I live next to Gloucester and sadly, Halibut Point Pub is no longer…. But the fantastic Italian Fish Chowder lives on! I have been using Clamato as the base. It is fantastic and I always get rave reviews! Beefing up my version with many of your ingredients!
Martha says
So sad to hear that it’s closed Dianne! Love the idea of using Clamato as the base – thanks for the suggestion!
Sheryl says
This looks amazing, but I have a few questions: First, if I wanted to add in shrimp and/or scallops, would I do that before or after the cod? And how much extra cooking time would I need? Second, do you have a brand of fish/seafood stock that you favor? And #3, can I make this in a crockpot (and if so, how long do I need to cook the cod and the other seafood)?
Jack says
Hi Sheryl
Add the shrimp and scallops in at the end, right after adding the fish. Shrimp and scallops will get tough if overcooked so keep the heat on medium to medium low. The shrimp will turn pink and be firm and the scallops will go from opaque to white. As soon as they are cooked, remove the chowder from heat. After adding the shrimp and scallops, (depending on how much you add and how hot the chowder is), it could take 4-5 minutes for them to cook.
The two stocks I like are Aneto boxed fish broth, Bar Harbor canned seafood stock and Bar Harbor bottled clam juice. Depending on what I am making, if I don’t have a homemade stock, I’ll use a combination of those three. Some brands I don’t personally like are Kitchen Basics and Imagine brand.
Trying to cook a delicate seafood chowder in a slow cooker would be next to impossible without overcooking the fish. Honestly, you wouldn’t save much time by attempting to use your slow cooker, if anything, you would probably need to monitor more often.
Hope this helps,
Best of luck,
Jack
Malia says
Made this a while back, and plan to make it tomorrow night as well. This is hands down the best fish chowder I have ever made or eaten. Incredibly good. Was amazing with crusty bread dipped in the soup or completely on its own.
Martha says
Thank you so much Malia!
Peter Thomas says
Excellent recipe. I cook for two so an exact half of all ingredients yields enough for two and a little left over for lunch the next day. I used monkfish and added a full can of drained baby clams for more of a chowder presentation. Wonderful taste! If you don’t like it or cannot have wine, substitute a splash of apple cider vinegar right before serving for the bite…regardless, the fresh parmesan is, in my opinion, a must along with the fresh flat leaf parsleys garnish. Served with a chunk of good sourdough bread broiled with butter and….wow….just wow. Thanks for the recipe!
Martha says
Thanks for all of the suggestions Peter – so glad you enjoyed the chowder!
Sue Cameron says
This is a fantastic recipe for a delicious simple dinner. We have enjoyed it for many years and shared it will family and friends with rave reviews. Along with a salad and some crusty French bread it’s a feast. Sometimes we add more potatoes and clam juice when we can’t find fish stock and a few time even added clams with the fish. It’s always delicious!
Martha says
Thank you so much Sue!
Ben says
Excellent recipe. Only thing I did differently is to add the crushed Chile pepper to the fat back (we call em scrunchions here in Newfoundland) and let ‘em simmer before adding veggies. It brings out the flavour.
Martha says
Thanks Ben – great suggestion!
Lisa says
amazing! Easy! so so tasty!!
instead of the salted pork, I added one can of sardines in olive oil and instead of fish broth I added Chicken stock
Martha says
Thanks Lisa!