Smoked salmon chowder

Smoked salmon is one of my favorite things. I absolutely love the smell of it, the taste and texture. It also goes a long way in the kitchen. Smoked salmon on bagels was a great afternoon snack in my glutenous days but no longer. This recipe is an adaption of a salmon chowder I ate while on San Juan Island in Washington. I had a little taste bud disco with every bite and had to go home and make my own recipe. The original recipe I created had heavy cream and no corn and was as close to the real thing as you could get without sailing the Salish Sea to grab it yourself. Since becoming gluten, dairy and soy free I made a few adaptions and came up with this tasty version. For my husband's love of corn I added corn and it actually complements the chowder quite well. It is fine with or without it so change it up if you like. I also occasionally put bacon crumbles on the top to serve when adding corn. You can also switch this recipe up and use it for leftover chicken or ham. For that change, simply put shredded or cubed chicken or ham in the place of the salmon. How awesome is that? One basic recipe and tons of options. 

This is easy to make, low cost and quick to cook in one pot. Triple win!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 yellow or white onion, chopped
• 1/2 yellow or red bell pepper
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1/2 bag frozen corn kernels
• 1 piece of smoked salmon or 2 pieces of salmon, cubed
• 1 tbl garlic, minced
•  black pepper
• 1 tbl dried dill 
• 1 container of seafood stock (use chicken or veggie if option for chicken or ham version)
• 1-2 white potatoes

Prep: 

Chop the veggies and set aside. The potatoes should be peeled and chopped into small, uniform cubes. 

Cook:

Heat a small amount of grease or oil in the bottom of the pot and cook down the onions, bell peppers, celery and garlic. Once soft add the stock and bring to a boil. Into this place the potatoes. Boil over medium heat for 12-15 minutes. The potatoes should be soft at the end of this. Add the chopped up smoked salmon, dill and corn and cook for enough time to heat the corn.

If you made the salmon version it should be served with cracked black pepper and perhaps a little extra smoked salmon on top. If you opted for the left over chicken, omit the dill and add a little pepper and try some Cajun seasoning. For the ham, omit the dill and add a little crumbled bacon on top.