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Cornish Seaside Chowder with Saffron
Cornish Seaside Chowder with Saffron is a traditional English recipe (originating in Cornwall) for classic seafood soup of mixed shellfish, whelks, leeks and potatoes in a cream broth flavoured with saffron. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic English version of: Cornish Seaside Chowder with Saffron.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
20 minutes
Total Time:
40 minutes
Serves:
4
Rating: 
Tags : Vegetable RecipesBritish RecipesEnglish RecipesCornish Recipes
Cornwall is one of the regions of the UK that's famous for its seafood chowders. It's also (along with Saffron Walden) one of the regions of England where saffron used to be grown on a commercial scale. This recipe combines these two Cornish traditional. The ingredients here, are based on shellfish (but you can add fish pieces if desired) can be as variable as you like and what you use depends on what you like or have to hand.
Ingredients:
300ml (1 1/4 cups) white wine
1kg (2 1/3 lbs) mixed shellfish, such as cockles, clams, mussels and winkles, cleaned and soaked in cold water
50g (1¾oz) unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 fennel bulb, finely chopped
½ leek (white part only) finely chopped
250g (9oz) waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 5mm/¼in cubes
2 pinches saffron threads
1 star anise
500ml (2 cups) chicken stock
175ml (7/10 cup) double cream
75g (2½oz) samphire
2 ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, and de-seeded
12 cooked whelks (meats only)
2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
handful of celery leaves, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Place a large, lidded, pan over medium heat. Once hot pour in the wine and bring to a boil. Add the shellfish, cover the pan with the lid, reduce the heat until the wine is just simmering, and cook the shellfish for 3-5 minutes, or until all the shells have opened (discard any that do not open).
Drain the shellfish in a fine-meshed sieve, reserving the cooking liquor in a bowl set underneath. When the shellfish is cool enough to handle, pick the meat from the shells.
Heat the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. When the butter is foaming, add the shallot and garlic and fry for 1-2 minutes, or until softened. Add the fennel, leek, potatoes, saffron and star anise and fry for a further 1-2 minutes.
Pour in the reserved cooking liquor from the shellfish along with the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat until simmering and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the potato cubes are just tender.
Add the cream and samphire and continue to simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until the soup has thickened slightly. Reduce the heat to low, then add the tomatoes and shellfish meat, including the whelks. Heat until the meats are just warmed through (about 4 minutes).
Stir in the chives and celery leaves, season to taste, with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper, then serve.
