I grew up on the east coast, so naturally I have a love of seafood, especially blue crab. I’ve had a craving for crab soup lately, but as I started to go over recipes for it I decided that rather then a soup I wanted something a little thicker, which led me to chowder. This is not a low calorie dish, as much as I try to go with healthier ingredients if your going to make chowder it has to have some body and creaminess to it. Trust me though, the extra calories are well worth it with this one.
1 tablespoon Extra-virgin olive oil
6 slices of bacon, chopped
2 russet potatoes,chopped (I like mine a little more rustic but you can peel if you prefer)
1 large onion, chopped (I prefer reds for the extra sweetness)
6 celery ribs chopped
4 chipotles /w adobo sauce, finely chopped
2 table spoons minced garlic
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
6 cups half and half (you can use cream if you prefer but I tried to cut calories a little here)
3 tablespoons fresh thyme
18 ounces lump crab meat
3 tablespoon Old Bay
Place a medium pot over medium-high heat and drizzle in the olive oil and the bacon. Cook until the bacon is nice and crispy, about 5 minutes, and then move the bacon to some paper towels to drain.
With all that yummy bacon fat still in the pot add the potatoes, onion, celery, chipotles and a tablespoon of the adobo sauce, and season with a little salt and pepper then cook for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Basically you’re trying to get all the veggies softened up a bit. At this point you’re going to stir in the flour and cook for 2 more minutes. You’re using it to create a rue to thicken up the sauce your about to make.
Once you’ve gotten the flour rue cooked up; add the chicken broth and deglaze the pot, which means you’re going to be using a wooden spoon to scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom. Once that’s done add the half and half, cover the pot and bring to a simmer.
Combine the crab meat with the Old Bay and thyme. Then stir the crab mixture into the sauce and simmer for another 6 to 7 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender and the sauce has thickened. At this point its time to add that bacon back in and let it soak up a little sauce. Let it cook another minute or two and then serve, I like to sprinkle a little chopped chives on top once its in the bowl for color and a last hit of flavor. Enjoy.