Mediterranean Fish Chowder With Potatoes and Kale

Julie, try sauteeing a couple tablespoons of tomato paste with the other ingredients in Step 1, and use more anchovy (and skip the rinsing.) You'll get more depth and umami this way. I learned this from a Cajun chef who taught me the secret to Court Bouillon is carmelized tomato paste.

Added fennel to the mirprox and used ¾ pound rock fish and 1 pound of manila clams and mussels. Delicious!

I halved the recipe for two servings, used Pacific Cod which held up very well, and didn't soak the anchovies. Excellent.

Amazing! I included a thinly sliced bulb of fennel when cooking the onions, and after adding the tomato paste and caramelizing it, I deglazed with 3/4 cup white wine. I found this gave it an extra depth of flavor.

This is an excellent main course soup, basically a bouillabaisse with the healthy addition of kale. Monkfish, which holds together beautifully and has lobster overtones, is a good choice for the fish.

May I add - one of the excellent, sustainable, inexpensive choices is farm-raised catfish. People find it icky, but I don't agree. I don't see it available much at the Whole Foods, but when I lived in New Jersey, I used catfish in recipes a lot. I watched a show on PBS about how catfish is farmed - it's very sustainable and sanitary, and the fish comes at a fraction of the price of the more expensive varieties.

Good chowder! To streamline, I tossed the raw chopped kale in the a few minutes before cod. Wife loved it, and the nutrition and calorie count made it even better.

Substituting a can of sardines in olive oil for the anchovies works well too. Tasty dish.

This soup was incredible. It reminded me of a Portuguese dish my parents made every Christmas called "Bacalao," a thick, garlicky, tomato-y, olive-studded stew made with salted cod. This recipe, however, is just as flavorful but far less heavy and labor-intensive. I've made it a few times, and I highly recommend (a) not skimping on the anchovies OR the bouquet garni, and most importantly, (b) using good quality fish. I used butterfish, also known as black cod or sablefish - it was remarkable.

Celeriac (aka celery root, but it is not the root of celery...) makes a good substitution for some/all of the potato. Cut into bite sized pieces, and when cooked it will have a similar consistency to a cube of a waxy potato, and mild flavor like a yukon gold made sweet sweet love to celery. (And fewer carbs, for those who care/need to avoid.)

I have prepared this 3 times now and think it is 5-stars as per recipe and with additions, too. The advance prep tip is helpful. I used catfish fillets, and have added shrimp and grilled Italian sausages, sliced. Another time I added mussels. One suggestion is to have plenty of bread to sop up the delicious sauce!! Leftovers are even better when reheated.

Made this many times. My favorite fish soup, so far. Lovely and rejuvenating on a chilly, rainy late fall evening. I am inclined to chop kale and cook it in the soup, before adding the fish, so not throwing vitamins away with the blanching water. Even better the second day, or let the broth rest for a couple of hours before adding the fish for final cooking.

I added a bit of white wine...1/2 cup a a bit of red pepper flakes.

Hi Harriet! I didn't skip the soaking part. The idea is to soften the anchovy fillets and probably remove some of the salt. I'm guessing the recipe author didn't want the anchovy flavor to overpower the relatively mild flavor of a whitefish, such as Alaskan halibut. Soaking the anchovies would probably help with that. If you're not into soaking the anchovies, I'd just cut the amount of fillets down. :)

This recipe was a perfect foundation to use leftover cooked cod, boiled potatoes and cooked kale. I followed the recipe adding all the ingredients except those, simmered 30 minutes, and added the fish, potatoes and kale to heat through. Awesome result.