Funny how your tastes change isn’t it? When I was a kid I hated seafood, the only fish I’d eat was processed cod shaped into a triangle and coated with breadcrumbs. In hindsight, I think it was just a dislike of fish with bones in and a fear of gagging on them.
As an adult I’m happier to experiment. What’s the worst that can happen if you don’t like something? You stop eating it. Thanks largely to a couple of brilliant seafood restaurants back in my native north east (Latimers in Whitburn and Colman’s in South Shields), these days I love seafood. Last year on Christmas Eve (pre Covid!) hubby and I sat in Latimers happily troughing a huge seafood platter with white wine and it was bliss. I draw the line at kippers and oysters otherwise I’m happy to try most things fishy.
A few months ago we went up to Northumberland, part of the country noted for its excellent seafood. We
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| Craster Harbour, Northumberland |
had fish and chips a couple of times, a pretty damn fine seafood platter at the Fish Shack in Amble, recommended by a friend. And then we went to Craster...
Craster I know is noted for its kippers. I’ve tried kippers in the past (took a box from Seahouses down to Durham, the smell of our car was never the same again), hubby and his dad loved them but I hated them. How can you eat anything with so many bones in?! So we explored the village...walked past the pub with a busy beer garden and found a quiet little place - the Shoreline Cafe.
Hubby almost predictably went for kippers but as soon as I saw seafood chowder on the menu I was hooked (excuse pun!) And, as soon as I tasted it, I was in love 😍 salty, creamy, rich....fishy. Filling and comforting. Just gorgeous. And I think I knew before we even left there that I’d have to try making it at home.So, whilst this is one of the first seafood chowder recipes I came across, it’s a good one and strikes me as having plenty of room for tweaking; I’m already thinking along the lines of cream and white wine... In fact I’ve already tweaked this: not satisfied with having just smoked haddock in there, I added some pre-mixed, frozen seafood mix - squid, razor clam, prawns and mussels.
Click here for the recipe - and give it a go! Thick smoked haddock chowder
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