Snapper Rub on Cod with Low Fat Clam Chowder

My new fish pliers arrived today, I got a nice stainless pair delivered for less than $11 from Amazon.ca. They sure made it easy to pull the bones out of the cod! I also decided to see just how much food I could make in one day.  Earlier I made a ciabatta bread to go with the chowder. This is my own recipe, made up as I went along.

Clam Chowder

1 carrot

1 stick celery

1 shallot

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp frozen diced peppers

1/2 cup frozen corn

2 small potatoes

3 strips bacon

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1 oz chicken stock

3-4 cups milk

1 small can clams

1 tsp ground thyme

You'll notice there is no cream in this version, that's the low fat part, I used 1% milk. I had to use more flour to thicken it so I made sure the flour taste was cooked off before serving. (instant blending flour really helps here) To make it richer replace a bit of the milk with cream.

Dice the potatoes into 1/4 inch cubes and par boil to soften. Sweat the shallot, celery, carrot, garlic and peppers then remove them from the pan.  Put finely chopped bacon in pan and cook to crispy.  Put butter and flour in pan and cook flour taste off.  Add stock and milk. Add the vegetables back in and the potatoes when they are ready.  Add the corn, the whole can of clams, liquid and all, followed by the thyme. Add salt and mixed pepper and taste. Adjust salt and pepper as desired.

Snapper Rub (now Fish Rub)

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cayenne

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp cumin

First salt the fish all over then coat in the rub and finally dust all over with flour.  Fry in olive oil for 3-4 minutes per side. (it really depends on the thickness of the fish, once both sides are flaky it should be done)

The rice was done in the microwave with salt and olive oil. The Brussels sprouts were steamed and finished in fried bacon and olive oil. 

Vinaigrette

1 tbsp oil 

1-2 tsp white wine vinegar

salt

pepper

The salad was just one head of iceberg lettuce with 1/4 head savoy cabbage thinly sliced.  Toss in the dressing and serve.

The whole meal was wonderful! The fish was perfect and the sprouts were a bit crunchy. We're finishing the clam chowder for lunch, I can't wait!