Seafood Chowder (Giada's)

By Tiller

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 large Spanish onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1/8 cup mirin (sweetened sake)
• 1 tablespoon crab boil seasoning (recommended: Old Bay)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 quarts fish stock
• 2 quarts clam broth
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 pound crab meat, picked over for shells
• 1/2 pound lobster meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 pound sea scallops
• 1 pound small shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• 1 pound skinned whitefish, such as cod or halibut, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 pound firm whitefish such as monkfish or swordfish, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 pint half-and-half or cream, heated (do not boil)
• Salt

Preparation

Step 1

Melt butter in a large stockpot. Saute onions and celery in butter until soft and translucent. Add mirin and continue to cook until it is almost reduced. Stir in crab boil seasoning and 1 tablespoon pepper. Continue to cook approximately 1 minute. Pour in fish stock and clam broth and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook the potatoes until just tender. Continue to simmer and add crab, lobster, scallops, and shrimp. Return to a simmer and add fish. Gently poach fish until just cooked. Add heated half-and-half. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Enjoy!