Oyster Chowder

Happy Foodie Friday!! 

I wanted to show you guys a really simple recipe that I found here and made for dinner last night. Lately the weather has turned super chilly and suddenly I felt the need for hot stew/chowder to warm up with. Now if you don't like oysters then that's perfectly fine! You can substitute the oysters with shrimp, clams, or any seafood you want. Just take the base of the chowder and add what you like! :) 

Finished look of the oyster chowder garnished with parsley.

Let's get started..

One jar of shucked oysters that I bought at the market in it's own juices.

Wash each oyster thoroughly in case of sandy grit under cold water.

Strain the oyster juices (to get rid of grit) to add into the pot later..

Two stalks of celery and one medium-sized sweet onion finely chopped.

Minced a small handful of italian flat-leaf parsley. Put to the side for garnish..

Add 5 tablespoons of butter in a medium pot on medium heat.

Add 1/4 cup of white flour to the melted butter to create a roux over a reduced med-low heat. 

Stir for a couple mins until a caramel brown color.

Add and mix in the chopped celery and sweet onion with the roux. 

Turn the heat back up to medium and cook for 3 mins.

 Add in the strained oyster juices that was saved earlier.. the roux mixture will turn into a paste.

Slowly pour and stir in 1 3/4 cup of milk (I used low-fat) and 1/4 cup of heavy cream. 

Mix well together and simmer for 15-20 mins over low heat.

 Depends on the size, chop the oysters up into bite-sized pieces. 

(Also - this is where you can add in your own preference of seafood!)

Add and stir the chopped oysters into the pot. Cook for 2-3 mins over med-low heat.

Add sea salt and finely ground black pepper to taste.

It is ready to be served! Serving size: 2-4

I had skipped the step of adding hot sauce or tabasco because I don't really care for the taste of tabasco. So it's up to your preference on adding it in earlier. But the Hubs loves tabasco so he added it to his own bowl. 

If you try this recipe out, enjoy! Hope it keeps you nice and toasty from the cold weather. :)