Ark Restaurant Seafood Chowder

From The Ark Restaurant

1/2 cup butter
3 cup diced onions
1-1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 medium sized green pepper, diced
1 cup celery, diced
6 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 cup dry sherry or water
salt and pepper
1 T marjoram
1 T thyme
3 cups fresh diced tomatoes
6 cup fish stockor vegetable stock
roux
1-1/2 cup potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 to 3/4 lb. snapper fillets cut into 1-inch pieces, or any other fish
chowder clams

In soup pot over medium high heat, melt butter. Add diced vegetables. Saute until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sherry, salt and pepper, herbs and tomatoes. Let marry well for 3 to 5 minutes.

Add fish stock and bring to gentle boil. Add 3 T roux, and simmer 5 to 10 minutes, or until mixture thickens. If it doesn't thicken to your taste, you may add more roux, a tablespoon at a time, cooking for a few minutes before adding more.

Cook soup about 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequestnly to keep vegetables off bottom. Add potatoes and cook over medium heat until they are turning tender.

Raise the heat to a rumbling boil and add fish pieces. Cook at rolling boil for 4 minutes. Add clams and cook for a minute more. Serve with sprinkled parsley and crackers or french bread.

Any type of fish can work in this chowder...and you can add crab, or mussels, or crawfish, or prawns if you like...whatever is the 'catch of the day.

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