Seafood Chowder in Bread Bowls

Soup weather is officially here and I couldn’t be happier! There’s not much that’ better than warm soup eaten out of a bread bowl, is there?

This seafood chowder was inspired by one that I had a few week ago at The Original Soup Man; I love how thick and rich it was and couldn’t get enough of the sweet bay scallops. I drank every last drop and left with plans to recreate it at home ASAP!

This soup is just about perfect in every way: the broth is rich and complex with a subtle brininess from the seafood, but it doesn’t taste “fishy” at all. There’s plenty of sweet seafood to go around, so you’re sure to get some in every bite. This is the kind of soup you want to eat after a day spent wearing bright yellow rain boots and stomping in puddles. Best of all, it’s light enough that you won’t feel like a glutton if you eat it out of a bread bowl. Which you should totally do!

I first saw the idea to make individual bread bowls out of crusty hard rolls on Pinterest, and it’s pretty brilliant! I picked the tallest rolls in the bakery case (high sides will keep the soup from spilling!) and they were the perfect size – just enough bread and just enough soup to leave me on the slightly stuffed side of satisfied.

Seafood Chowder in Bread Bowls

 Serves 8 

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Time:  40 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 small Onion, finely diced
• 2 Carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 ribs Celery, diced
• 1 Potato, peeled and diced
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 teaspoon Low Sodium Old Bay Seasoning
• 1/4 cup Sherry 
• 28 ounce can Fired Roasted Diced Tomatoes
• 2 cups Water
• 7 ounce can Crab Meat, liquid reserved
• 7 ounce can Chopped Clams, liquid reserved
• 1/2 pound Bay Scallops
• 1/2 pound Shrimp, tails removed, chopped
• 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
• 8 crusty Hard Rolls

Preparation

1. Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, and potato. Cook 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and Old Bay seasoning. Cook 1 minute. Whisk in the sherry.
2. Add the tomatoes, water, and liquid from the crab and clams. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat an simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add the seafood; simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley.
3. Cut the center out of each roll. Scoop out some of the bread to make room for the soup, being careful to leave at least a half inch of bread around the bottom and sides to act as a barrier for the soup. Ladle soup into bread bowls. Serve immediately.

Be sure to check back on Friday, when I’ll be posting a delicious dessert featuring Oreo cookies – and a chance for you to win a great prize pack filled with goodies like a Crate & Barrel serving platter and pie server, and Oreo cookbook, and some other fun treats!

While I can’t promise that my recipe will be as cute as this little turkey, I can promise you that it will be delicious and simple to make -which is key, since you’ll need to recreate one of the 6 recipes posted on Kitchen Play in order to enter. So grab your oreos and get ready to bake!

 (photo source: http://kitchen-play.com/OREOturkey)