Summer Into Fall: Salmon Chowder

It was the last week of summer, and we wanted to make Northwest salmon on the grill one last time, before the cooler weather and rain arrived. I prepared a huge side of wild-caught salmon, using my favorite cedar plank salmon recipe. We enjoyed it, but it was way too much food for just the four of us.

Leftover salmon is good on a crisp salad, in a pasta dish, or just re-heated. But the forecast predicted the beginnings of fall weather. Salmon chowder, I thought, was the way to go. I've made chowders before, but never with great results, so I looked for a new recipe. I found one that looked promising, which actually called for canned salmon, but of course, I was looking for a way to use our leftovers, so I made that substitution and a few other changes. I wasn't sure about the idea of using creamed corn, but decided to give it shot. The chowder turned out delicious and just in time for the first cool, drizzly day we've had in months. Perfect!

My recipe is below. If you decide to try it with canned salmon, let me know how it turns out. I'm a little curious.

Salmon Chowder  PRINTABLE RECIPE

3 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves - minced
2 cups diced red potatoes
2 carrots - diced
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dill weed
15 oz can creamed corn
12 oz can low-fat evaporated milk
1 Lb (at least) cooked salmon - broken into small pieces
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp chopped parsley (optional)

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté onion, celery, and garlic for a few minutes, until onions are tender.

2. Stir in potatoes, carrots, broth, salt, pepper, and dill weed. Bring to a boil; then cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.

3. Add corn, evaporated milk, salmon, and cheese to the pot. Stir often, until heated through. Ladle chowder into individual bowls and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Love in a Bowl: Tortilla Soup

I made this tortilla soup for dinner last night and wow, yum, delicious – I loved it! The broth is beautiful and rich, but really, it’s all about the condiments: crisp tortilla chips, mellow avocado, smoky dried peppers, sharp cheese, sour cream, lime juice, and cilantro. You must include tortilla chips in your soup to make it "tortilla" soup, I suppose, and I can’t imagine going without the avocado or the cheese. But the other toppings are optional and may be used in any combination you like. I like to add, lime juice and crushed pasilla chile in addition to the tortilla chips, avocado, and cheese.

I so enjoyed the process of making this soup. In the blender, the raw ingredients transform into a gorgeous, deep brown purée. And the aroma that fills the house while the soup is simmering and the flavors are concentrating is simply intoxicating – warm and smoky. Even the kids said it smelled "really good!" Of course, they didn't even try the soup as they were afraid of the chile pepper, which indeed, probably would have been too much for them. They had cheese quesadillas for dinner instead.

If you're up for it, you can make your own fried tortilla strips. Personally, I have an aversion to deep-frying things (though not to eating deep-fried things). I hate dealing with all that oil. It’s a mess, and I never know what to do with the used oil when I’m done. For this soup, I just bought some really good, crispy, salty, slightly greasy tortilla chips and broke them up into smallish pieces.

I like to use a medium to sharp cheddar cheese, but a Mexican cheese such as cotija would be more authentic. The dried chiles are easy to find in the Mexican/Hispanic section of most grocery stores, and all the other ingredients are every-day items. One note of caution: Be careful not to over-salt the broth. It’s tempting, but your toppings, especially the cheese and tortilla chips, will add a lot of saltiness and flavor, so you don’t need that extra salt in the broth.

Tortilla Soup  PRINTABLE RECIPE

4 dried pasilla chiles - stemmed, and seeded
2 dried chiles de árbol - stemmed
1/2 Lb. tomatoes – cut into wedges
1 large white onion - coarsely chopped
2 large garlic cloves - chopped
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups water
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 teaspoon dried, crushed oregano
kosher salt

Toppings:
2 cups crisp tortilla strips
1 large avocado - cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1 lime – cut into 6 wedges
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 pasilla chile – toasted & crumbled (see below)

1. Toast chiles in a dry heavy skillet (not nonstick) over medium to high heat, turning until slightly smoky. Coarsely crumble 1 pasilla chile and set aside to use as a topping.

2. Purée tomatoes, onion, garlic, chiles de árbol, and 3 pasilla chiles with 1/2 cup broth in a blender. You'll probably need to poke it a couple times with a wooden spoon to get it going, but don't leave the top off the blender or you could end up with a big mess.

3. Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add purée and bring just to boil. Turn heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes.

4. Stir in oregano, 1 tsp salt, remaining 4-1/2 cups broth, and 3 cups water. Bring just to boil, then turn heat to low and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. While it simmers, you can prepare your toppings. After 45 minutes, add approximately 2 to 3 tsp salt to taste.

5. Place avocado pieces in six soup bowls and ladle in soup. Add additional toppings at the table as desired.

Broccoli Soup

Since we're still experiencing some cool, rainy Portland weather, here's a favorite soup recipe for the slow cooker. It's delicious (even the kids like it), especially with Garlic Parmesan Toasts. You can serve it chunky, as I do, or you can blend it for a smoother soup.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

2 Lbs broccoli florets
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic - minced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
6 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

1. Combine the broccoli, oil, garlic, thyme, broth, wine, and lemon juice in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
2. Use the back of a large wooden spoon to break up some of the broccoli or, if you prefer, puree the soup with a hand-held immersion blender. Season with salt (about 1 tsp) and pepper to taste.

Serve with shredded Parmesan cheese and/or Garlic Parmesan Toasts (below).

Garlic Parmesan Toasts are super simple, and are great with this soup. Use a nice baguette or sourdough loaf:

1. Cut bread into slices - no thicker than 1/2" - and lay out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Lightly brush each slice, on one side, with extra virgin olive oil.
2. Place under pre-heated broiler for just a couple minutes, until the bread turns golden.
3. Remove bread from oven and rub the toasted side of each slice with a cut garlic clove. Then sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese.
4. Return to the broiler just until the cheese melts. Remove from oven and serve.