Cod fillet  features in  seafood chowder

, seem better for late summer and early autumn eating, but this recipe, can be downed when there is two feet of snow on the ground.

Edited  by |ANNA sam

Food section -  CJ journalist

World - September,14,2023 

Timings

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1kg mussels

500ml dry cider

30g butter

2 leeks, cut into fine rings

400g potatoes, peeled and cut into 4cm chunks

100ml double cream

400g skinless cod fillet, cut into 4cm chunks

squeeze of lemon juice

chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, to serve

Method

Clean the mussels really well, scrubbing the outsides, removing the beards and discarding any that are damaged

or do not close when tapped on the side of the sink. Put them into a large saucepan and add the cider.

Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the mussels open. Discard any that remain closed.

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan and add the leeks and potatoes. Season with pepper. Cover and sweat the vegetables in the butter and a splash of water over a low heat for about 15 minutes, until starting to soften. Add

a little more water every so often to ensure that the vegetables do not burn.

When the mussels are cool enough to handle, remove them from the cider and take the meat out of most of them, keeping some in the shell as they look nice in the final dish.

Add the cider and mussel juices to the leek and potatoes and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Gently mash some of the potatoes to slightly thicken the juices.

Add the cream and cod to the pan and, over a gentle heat, poach the cod for 2-3 minutes. Add the mussels to the soup and heat through.

Season with pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice (you shouldn’t need any salt, as mussel liquor is pretty salty).

Scatter with the parsley and serve.