Passport & Plate - Newfoundland Chanterelle and Scallop chowder
Canada | Monday, March 2, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
Chanterelles (2 lbs), Scallops (1 lb), Onions (1 diced), Red Peppers and Yellow peppers (one each, diced), fresh Corn, cut from the Cob (1 cup), Pancetta (1/2 cup,diced), Bay leaves (4), Fish or shellfish stock (2 cups), Salt and pepper to taste, Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1 tbsp), Butter (1 tbsp), Evaporated milk (not sweetened - 2 cans), White wine (1 cup)
How to prepare this recipe
Harvest Chanterelles in a beautiful remote part of Newfoundland (or wherever you might find them). Clean thoroughly. Dice all vegetables and pancetta into 1/4" cubes. Add olive oil and Butter to Large pot over medium heat. Add pancetta and saute until lightly browned, add vegetables and mushrooms season with salt and pepper, and sweat five minutes. Add Bay leaves, white wine , stock and increase heat to medium high and cook until liquid is reduced by 50%. Add evaporated milk and reduce by 50%. Reduce heat to medium, Add Scallops, (sliced into smaller pieces if large) and poach until done, about two minutes. , taste for seasoning and serve in warm bowls, with fresh crusty bread on the side
The story behind this recipe
I am a chef that has travelled the world. A long time member of Slow Food, I revel in the opportunity to cook with freshly harvested ingredients that reflect place, terroir and culture. This trip to Newfoundland, Canada two summers ago inspired me. John, a dear friend of mine from my home in Nova Scotia, invited me to spend a weekend with his friend Charlie In Newfoundland, my first visit to this fair province. We would visit St John's, the Capital, where I would help with a staff party for Charlie's company, and then Charlie, John and I would travel 2+ hours across NFLD to Charlie's coastal cottage in Port Blandford, where we would chill for two days and I would cook with what inspired me.
After a delightful and raucous party in St John's on our arrival day, we awoke the next day and drove across the barren yet beautiful landscape that is the Avalon Penninsula for several hours. Somehow both lunar and terran, it is unlike any place I have ever been. Lakes and dales, few trees, rocky tors and gorgeous bays at every turn.
We stopped at a local fishmonger enroute, where I discovered fresh plump scallops harvested earlier that day, still glistening with the juices from recent shucking. An hour later we arrived at Charlie's secluded cottage amidst fog settling in for a local nap. He took us on a lovely forest walk near his property, where I, with a mycologist's eagle eye, spotted several flushes of robust chanterelles ready for the picking.
We arrived back at the cottage, with fresh scallops, a heady mixture of veggies and my own pancetta, and more than 5 pounds of gorgeous mushrooms. Exhilarated by what I had in front of me, coupled with the rustic tranquilityof the location, I was inspired to make comfort food of my heritage and crafted this scallop and mushroom chowder, that reflected NFLD's terroir and bounty, Charlie's passion at harvesting mushrooms for the 1st time and my joy at my timely visit to this unique place
