Fabian very nicely gave me a voucher for Cooks Academy in Dublin for Christmas, so one Saturday in January I headed off to learn all about fish. I come home with the mostly lovely fish stock and keen to cook to Seafood Chowder. There something about a warm bowl of chowder on cold winter day to warm you up.

Ingredients-Serves  4-6

• 25 g butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 leek, trimmed and diced
• 1 small carrot, diced
• 5-6 baby potato, cubed
• 50 g smoked salmon slices (cut into julienne, long thin strips)
• 120 ml dry white wine
• 450 ml fish stock or water
• 225 g mixed fresh fish fillets (skinned and cut into bite-sized pieces – cod, haddock, hake or salmon)
• 100 g raw prawns
• 100 g of mussels (scrubbed clean)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 175 ml cream
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Chop onion, leek, carrot and potatoes. Julienne the smoked salmon.
   

   

   
2. Heat a large pan over a medium heat. Add the butter and once it is foaming, tip in the onion, leek, and carrot. Fry for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add the potato fry for another 2-3 minutes.
   

   
3. Pour the wine into the pan and allow to bubble down and reduce by half.
4. Add the fish stock or water and bring to a simmer, then add the fresh fish and shellfish.
   

   
5. Return the pan to a simmer and add the parsley, cream, and smoked salmon then season to taste.
   

   
6. Cover with a lid and simmer gently for another 2-3 minutes until the fish and prawns are tender and all of the mussels have opened, discard any that do not. Serve and enjoy.