Recipe: Smoked Haddock Chowder

Every once in a while dinner time rolls around and I think...oh rats...why am I making this!? I just know that Lyra isn't going to like it.  9 times out of 10 I am wrong and she does like whatever it is that I am convinced she won't. She constantly amazes me with her love of food (wonder where she gets that from) and I can really only name a handful of things she consistently turns her nose up...carrots cooked in any way other than in a stew. Even so I was pretty sure she wasn't going to be all that enthralled with the incredibly smokey chowder I whipped up earlier this week. 

Again, I was wrong...kind of.  Yes, she managed to pick out every single piece of cauliflower and hand them over to me one by one, but she devoured her smoked haddock and potatoes with delight and screamed out MORE MORE MORE. I couldn't help but chuckle while I nibbled on her cauliflower cast outs. 

Smoked Haddock Chowder
Serves 2 adults 2 toddlers

Ingredients: 

1 fillet of undyed smoked haddock

1 pint of whole milk 

a handful of cauliflower florets broken into small pieces 

3 medium white potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes 

1 medium leek thinly sliced in half circles 

oil or butter to sauté 

Method: 

In a large enough sauce pan, with a lid, gently heat the milk. Once simmering place the haddock in the milk and poach until the fish is cooked. Carefully lift out the fish once it is cooked, let cool and flake into bite sized pieces. Reserve milk. 

In a large pot sauté leeks in oil or butter until soft. Add in cauliflower and potatoes and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Pour the warm milk that you poached the fish in over the vegetables and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. 

Once the vegetables are soft add the flaked fish and simmer until the fish has warmed through. 

If needed add a splash more milk, or cream. 

For Lyra I used a slotted spoon to drain off most of the milk to reduce any mess.