Mom's Whitefish Chowder

My mom makes the best soups. Not only does she make her own chicken or fish broth, but she knows how to use it to make other delicious soups, such as this Whitefish Chowder. The soup is thick with diced potatoes and chunks of tender whitefish. A creamy soup flavoured with bacon and dill, it’s delicious and filling and a total comfort food.

I couldn't wait to ask my mom for the recipe and she wasted no time in dictating it to me; as she spoke, I scrambled to write everything down. My mom started the soup with a homemade fish broth, made from water, fish bones, and fish skin. The mixture was simmered for an hour and then all the bones and skin were discarded, resulting in a flavourful and concentrated fish broth. 

Then she sautéed several strips of bacon, paper clip-sized, in a large soup pan until crisp. She added chopped onions and continued to cook until they were softened. Equal parts fish stock and chicken stock entered the pan, along with grated and diced potato (the grated potato cooks down and helps to thicken the soup without the use of flour or cornstarch). To make the soup a creamy one, my mom added a cup of light cream and a couple cups of milk.

Seasoning was simple: pink Himalayan salt, freshly ground black pepper, nutmeg, and fresh dill leaves, chopped. Before serving, my mom poached the cubed white fish in the soup until just cooked. The result: a flavourful, full-bodied broth which is creamy yet light and rich with tender whitefish and potatoes. This soup is the perfect dish to usher in the frigid months ahead. 

Here is a rough estimation of the amount of ingredients used:

• fish bones, skin, fat etc.
• 1 litre water
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 8 strips of bacon, paper-clip-sized
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 potatoes, 2 grated, one finely diced
• 1 cup table cream
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• dill leaves, chopped
• 1 lb whitefish, cubed