blushing seafood chowder

A delicious medley of shrimp, scallops & haddock. The rosy tint and flavor hit from Spanish chorizo is totally appetizing. This Blushing Seafood Chowder is one of those dishes that can be switched up and modified, depending on what’s available at your local market.

blushing seafood chowder

Your shopping list…

  • Olive oil
  • Butter
  • Spanish chorizo
  • Medium sweet onion
  • Large russet potato
  • Bay leaf
  • Fresh thyme
  • Smoked paprika
  • Seafood stock
  • Salt & freshly ground black pepper
  • Roasted red pepper
  • Haddock or any white flaky fish
  • Small or medium shrimp
  • Sea scallops
  • Light or heavy cream
  • Fresh chives

The chorizo is finely chopped so that once it is browned, you’ll have crispy crumbles to top off each serving. The residual fat and juices stay in the pot to form the complex base of chowder flavor.

So… what is chorizo?

If you’re not familiar with chorizo, it is a spicy pork & beef sausage that typically hails from Spain. It is usually dry-cured.

There are also Mexican and Caribbean varieties out there, but they should not be substituted for the Spanish variety …which is used for this recipe.

blushing seafood chowder

  • Heat the oil & butter in a very large saucepan or Dutch oven.
  • Add the chopped chorizo and cook until crispy.  
  • Using a slotted spoon, remove the chorizo bits from the pan to drain on a paper towel.  
  • Leave the resulting fat and juice in the pan.
  • Add the chopped onion to the pan and sauté for several minutes, until the onion is softened. 

When prepping the potato, don’t make the dice too large.

They’ll simmer for just ten to fifteen minutes before adding the seafood. And, just to be clear, you can use any type of white potato you may have on hand. I used a large russet potato, but a red-skinned or Yukon gold would be just fine.

blushing seafood chowderblushing seafood chowderblushing seafood chowder

A helpful hint…

To avoid chomping on a stray stem, you’ll make a thyme bundle with a piece of kitchen twine.  Suspend the thyme from the handle of your pot so that the bundle can swim freely as the soup simmers. When it’s time to remove it, a simple tug on the twine will do the trick.

  • Use a generous piece of kitchen twine to tie the thyme sprigs together.
  • Place the bundle of thyme in the pot and tie the loose ends of the string to the handle of the pot. 
  • Add the diced potatoes and bay leaf.  
  • Sprinkle with the smoked paprika.  
  • Add the seafood stock. It should be enough to cover the potatoes by an inch.
  • Bring the chowder to a boil, then reduce the heat so it simmers gently.
  • Continue simmering for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are soft enough to crush against the side of the pot.
  • Add salt & pepper to taste.  

blushing seafood chowderblushing seafood chowder

  • Stir in the chopped red pepper. 
  • Add the prepared seafood and gently stir to combine, making sure all pieces are fully submerged.  
  • Simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, just until seafood is cooked through and opaque.

This is where you can mix it up to suit your budget and taste. I use a total of 24 ounces …a half-pound each of small shrimp, sea scallops & haddock.

You can use just fish …any white flaky variety. Or you can omit the scallops and increase the shrimp and fish. If you want to be extravagant, you could even use lobster!

blushing seafood chowder

Be careful not to overcook.

  • Remove the bay leaf and thyme bundle.  
  • Add the light cream and gently stir to combine.  
  • Simmer for an additional minute until mixture is heated throughout. 
  • Ladle the hot chowder into bowls and serve immediately.  

blushing seafood chowder

Your Blushing Seafood Chowder is ready…

Serve immediately, topped with reserved chorizo crumbles and chopped fresh chives.

blushing seafood chowderblushing seafood chowderBlushing Seafood Chowder

blushing seafood chowder
4.67 from 3 votes
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blushing seafood chowder

Inspired by cheese1227 at FOOD52

This light creamy chowder features haddock, shrimp & scallops.  The blush can be attributed to the addition of Spanish chorizo.

Servings 4 to 6 servings
Author Rosemary Stelmach

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 1/2 ounces Spanish chorizo, skin removed & finely chopped
  • 1 medium sweet onion, chopped (about 5 ounces)
  • 1 large Russet potato, scrubbed & cut into 1/2" dice (about 11 ounces)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 5 cups seafood stock
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
  • 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
  • 8 ounces haddock, cut into bite-sized pieces (or any white flaky fish)
  • 8 ounces small or medium shrimp, peeled & deveined
  • 8 ounces sea scallops (halved or quartered, if large)
  • 1 cup light cream (for a richer broth, use heavy cream)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Heat oil & butter in a very large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add chopped chorizo and cook until crispy.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the chorizo bits from the pan to drain on a paper towel.  Leave the resulting fat and juice in the pan.

  2. Add the chopped onion to the pan and sauté for several minutes, until the onion is softened. 

  3. Use a generous piece of kitchen twine to tie the thyme sprigs together. Place the bundle of thyme in the pot and tie the loose ends of the string to the handle of the pot.

  4. Add the diced potatoes and bay leaf.  Sprinkle with smoked paprika.  Add the seafood stock.  It should be enough to cover the potatoes by an inch. Bring chowder to a boil, then reduce the heat so it simmers until potatoes are soft enough to crush against the side of the pot, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Stir in the chopped red pepper.

  5. Add the prepared seafood and gently stir to combine, making sure all pieces are fully submerged.  Simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, just until seafood is cooked through and opaque.  

  6. Remove bay leaf and thyme bundle.  Add light cream and gently stir to combine.  Simmer for an additional minute until mixture is heated throughout.

  7. Ladle hot chowder into bowls and serve immediately.  Top off each serving with crispy chorizo bits and chopped chives.

Blushing Seafood Chowder

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Recipe Rating




    • Hi Carol. Seafood stock is found in most large food stores. If not available in your area, you can find it on Amazon. The other option is to make homemade stock following Ina Garten’s recipe. There’s a link to that recipe within my post. I hope that is helpful!

  • 5 stars
    Really lovely and truly different than the chowders I have had in the past. I had no potatoes, so I subbed with gnocchi. Perfect! Thank you.

  • 5 stars
    This turned out great, I added more spices at the end, Old Bay Seasoning, garlic salt, Chile flakes. The fresh shrimp and fresh scallops are very pricey, but worth it. I did not like trying to take the skin off the chorizo, but it really does add to the flavor. It was a hit, shared it with family and friends.

    • Thanks, Vivian. So glad it was a hit! I totally get what you’re saying about the chorizo. I don’t use it that often, but in this recipe it makes a huge difference in the final outcome …the fullness of flavor and beautiful blushed tint of this dish.

      • Can you use sliced Spanish chorizo? That’s all I could find at my grocery, or would the Mexican be a better sub?

        • Yvette, I would recommend using the cured Spanish chorizo even if it’s sliced. For the recipe, you cut up and brown the chorizo to get crumbly bits …so that would still work. The fat and juice of the Spanish chorizo is used as a flavor builder for the entire batch of chowder, getting the specific flavor profile is so important! Hope this is helpful.

  • 4 stars
    My husband loves seafood, but is allergic to shell fish. I used half chicken bone broth, and veg. Broth . Then I used little scallops, and oysters/ with their water to replace the shrimp. Thank you, your recipe was a great resource for me.