Good Harbor Smoked Whitefish Chowder

When the wind begins to blow cold off Lake Michigan in the as winter comes around, a bowl of this Good Harbor Smoked Whitefish Chowder is just the thing to keep you warm. The sweet and briny smokiness tastes just right in the delicate milky broth. If you want to keep the chowder as low fat as possible, omit the bacon and simply sweat the onions, leeks and carrots in a dry pot. The juice from the onions will help to soften the carrots and leeks. If you like a thicker chowder, mash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot.  Garnish with some fresh thyme and parsley.

Ingredients:

4 strips of streaky smoked bacon chopped and browned
2 medium onions roughly chopped
2 leeks, carefully washed and roughly chopped
2 celery stalks roughly chopped, tops included
1 cup finely diced carrots
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 quarts good homemade chicken broth, or 2 -14 oz. cans of chicken broth
4 cups peeled, roughly chopped potatoes
2 cups boned and skinned smoked whitefish chunks
3 cups milk
2 cups sweet white corn
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 sprig of fresh thyme, leaves only
¼ cup fresh chopped parsley

Directions:

To make the chowder, brown the smokey bacon in a large pot, then saute the onion, leeks, celery and carrots in the bacon fat until they soften.  Stir the cornstarch into the fat, then add the chicken stock and stir until it thickens a bit. Next add the potatoes and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Then add the smoked fish which has been carfully boned and skinned and broken into bite size pieces. Next add the sweet white corn and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes more. Then stir in the milk and keep the chowder warm over very low heat until it is hot. If you want a thicker broth, mash some of the potatoes against the side of the pan. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Ladle the chowder into warm bowls, sprinkle with fresh thyme and fresh chopped parsley and enjoy,