Not too fancy fish and bean chowder

A bowl of fish and bean chowder

Is this a chowder? The food word nerds may judge me, but it certainly eats like one! Regardless, I love this dish.

Fish and beans go great together, and I usually have most of the ingredients in the pantry/fridge/freezer. If you want to make it fancy, scroll to the end for some ideas!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 batch white beans (what kind? see below) with broth
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1 carrot
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 cup(ish) dry vermouth (or white wine, or sherry)
  • A big handful of cherry tomatoes
  • Wine vinegar
  • 8 ounce bottle of clam juice (or stock, or water)
  • Fresh dill
  • Two or three fish fillets (what kind? see below)
  • Crusty bread
  • Hot sauce

Steps

First, cook a pot of beans

I think of this as a quick weeknight recipe, but you'll need to have cooked up some beans already! Luckily, that's what we do around here.

I'll frequently make a batch, use half the beans immediately, roasted or in a salad, and freeze the rest in their broth. That'd be perfect for this dish.

What kind of beans? Really, any bean is pretty good with fish but the milder, white beans taste best to me. Navy beans, cannelini or coronas would all be nice, but try whatever white beans you can find!

Prep the fish

I usually use individually frozen fish fillets for this dish. They're relatively inexpensive and super convenient. I just thaw them under running water for ten minutes or so, then drain. Fresh fish would be excellent also!

What kind of fish? I like something pretty neutral. Like, not salmon. My choice would be tilapia, haddock, halibut, whitefish, etc. Or if you wanna fancy things up, try shrimp! Or clams!

Anyway, I usually leave the fillet whole, but cut it into strips if you like. Give the fish a quick salt and toss it into the fridge while you get everything else going.

Chop and sauté

Dice your onions and carrot, and thinly slice the garlic. Heat some olive oil over medium heat and cook the veg with salt and pepper until soft. Add the tomato paste and paprika and cook a couple minutes longer.

Add the wet stuff and simmer

Deglaze the pot with vermouth, toss in the tomatoes, a glug of vinegar, and the beans and their broth. If you've got some handy, pour in a bottle of clam juice, but stock or water would be just fine.

Simmer for a little while, until it's all tasting nice and the tomatoes are soft and their skins have broken. Not saucy enough? Add some water.

Fish and finish

Once everything's getting good and tasty, chop up some fresh dill and add it to the pot. Nestle two or three fish fillets into the pot and cover. Depending on the fish, it'll take a few minutes or more to cook through. Try to not overcook it!

After the fish is cooked, transfer the fillets to bowls. Taste the broth. Does it need more salt? Vinegar? Pepper? Adjust! Once you love it, spoon the beans and broth over the fish and serve with crusty bread.

Oh, and I usually eat this with some hot sauce, and my favorite pick for chowders is an unusual one. Outerbridges's Sherry Pepper sauce is magical in fish stews.

Make it fancy

Like a lot of bean recipes, to me this is more of a format than a formula. If you've got fish and beans in the freezer, and garlic and onions in the pantry, just add some nice looking veg and/or herbs and you're ready to make a quick weeknight meal.

Try adding and/or substituting...

  • Celery (diced at the beginning and/or leaves at the end)
  • Fennel (ditto, fancier)
  • Tarragon
  • Sherry
  • Shaoxing wine (an essential ingredient in many Chinese dishes and my go-to sherry substitute)
  • Shrimp
  • Clams
  • Bacon, belly or pork fat
  • Fish sauce or soy sauce (to bump up the umami, but be careful to not oversalt it!)

And that's all I've got for today! Hope you're enjoying Bean Tips! As always, hit me up with any questions/edits/ideas at brian@beantips.com. Thanks!