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🍲 Soups & stews

Sablefish (or any fish) chowder with lemon & kale

Creamy, briny, bright, and extremely cozy

⏱️ Time estimate: about 1 hour 15 minutes

Fennel, onion, carrots, and baby potatoes simmer into a creamy chowder with white wine, clam juice, kale, and flaky fish, then get finished with lemon zest and juice for a fresh pop.

Creamy fish chowder with kale, carrots, and potatoes

Ingredients

  • 1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
  • 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, grated
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into half moons
  • 2 pounds baby potatoes, quartered
  • 2 tablespoons salted butter
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup clam juice
  • 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon vegetable base
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 pound sablefish, halibut, cod, flounder, or another flaky white fish
  • 5 cups kale leaves, roughly torn
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 lemon, for zest and juice

Instructions

  1. Prep the vegetables. Slice the fennel and onion. Grate the garlic, chop the rosemary, strip the thyme leaves, peel and slice the carrots, and quarter the potatoes.
  2. Build the base. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the fennel and onion with a teaspoon of salt and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until soft and melty.
  3. Bloom the aromatics. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, smoked paprika, and cayenne. Stir for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
  4. Add the vegetables. Stir in the carrots and potatoes. Season with another good pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
  5. Deglaze and simmer. Pour in the wine and let it reduce for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the clam juice. Whisk the bouillon into the water, pour it into the pot, and add the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 to 30 minutes.
  6. Blend for texture. Use an immersion blender to blend about half of the soup so the chowder gets creamy but still keeps some chunky vegetables.
  7. Cook the fish and kale. Cut the fish into 1-inch cubes. Add the fish and kale, bring the chowder back to a lively simmer, cover, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.
  8. Finish the chowder. Stir in the heavy cream, lemon zest, and lemon juice to taste. Season again with salt and pepper if needed.
  9. Serve. Ladle into bowls and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Flavor note: the clam juice, white wine, and lemon are doing a lot of quiet heavy lifting here. If you skip the wine, add a few tablespoons of white wine vinegar at the end.