SMOKED TROUT CHOWDER, NOVA SCOTIA HODGE PODGE FROM CHEF SEADON SHOUSE.

NOVA SCOTIA HODGE PODGE IS A TRADITIONAL DISH TRANSFORMED BY CHEF SEADON

Hodge Podge is a traditional Nova Scotian dish, a hearty and flavorful stew made with fresh, seasonal vegetables– potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, and corn.  Seasoned with salt and pepper, some recipes, this one included,  also include cream to thicken the broth.  The recipe for Hodge Podge can vary from one household to another, and families often have their own unique twists on the dish. That’s what Chef Seadon Shouse has done here. The chef adds smoked trout to give the dish “hardiness and complexity” Chef Seadon goes on to say ” To avoid disappointing guests who are looking for the traditional (ed. vegetarian) Nova Scotian dish, the name is changed to Smoked Trout Chowder.” That’s a perfect match for Chef Seadon’s fundamental philosophy that cooking should transcend the confines of a recipe. And today’s recipe is a prime example.

CHEF SEADON’S SMOKED TROUT CHOWDER, HIS HODGE PODGE IS FOUND IN HIS GREAT NEW COOKBOOK AND MEMOIR

“Let’s make Cooking wild and wonderful,” wrote Chef Seadon Shouse when he autographed his new Cookbook “From the Hill by The Sea” ( Ironstate Holdings LLC, 2023). Chef Seadon is the Executive Chef of the restaurant Halifax in Hoboken New Jersey.  Lodged in the waterfront W Hotel, it is named for the Capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. (For more information go to: https://www.halifaxhoboken.com/  By all accounts, Halifax’s menu is a deeply satisfying culinary experience. Chef Seadon’s recipes are rooted in his upbringing along Nova Scotia’s coast where the connection between food, land, and sea is profound. Chef Seadon’s cookbook is also a memoir of his childhood adventures—fishing, foraging, mushroom hunting, and cooking drawn from Nova Scotia’s rich culinary traditions. It’s an exploration of unconventional ingredients and cooking techniques peppered with recipes with twists of seafood like mackerel, oysters, salmon, and periwinkles. He even shares a recipe for open-fire roasted chicken. Finally, Chef Seadon’s is one beautiful book.  But I promise today’s recipe isn’t a test of culinary skill: you can cook it over an open fire, as Chef Seadon demonstrates or you can make it on the stovetop, like I did, in a little over  1/2 hour. You can swap out wax beans for green beans. Remember Chef Seadon’s advice: don’t be a slave to the recipe.  Here it is followed by some other great fish dishes.

You can purchase “From The Hill By The Sea” here: https://www.amazon.com/Hill-Sea-Cookbook-Memoir/dp/B0CJT9Q5Z7/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=From+the+hill+by+the+sea&qid=1697575726&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc

Smoked Trout Chowder, A Nova Scotia Hodge Podge

October 17, 2023

Servings: 6 to 8

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 30 min

Total: 40 min

Difficulty: Easy

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A hearty and flavorful stew made with fresh, seasonal vegetables and smoked trout in a glorious creamy-rich broth.

By: Monte Mathews

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. fresh garlic
• 2 cup baby onions
• 3 cup new potatoes
• 12-15 baby carrots
• 1 cup wax or green beans
• 1 cup fresh peas
• 1 cup snap peas
• 1 bunch fresh dill
• 12 oz. smoked trout
• 4 bay leaves
• 3-5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 1iter chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 1liter half-and-half
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp. butter

Directions

• Step 1 Prep the vegetables: Crush and rough mince the garlic. Cut the baby onions (pearl or cipollini) in quarters or halves. If the potatoes are not small, cut them in half. Cut baby carrots in half. Cut wax beans (yellow and/or green) into 1-inch pieces: Shuck the peas. Remove the string from the snap peas and roughly chop the fresh dill, stems included. Break up the smoked trout into medium bite-sized pieces.
• Step 2 If you’re cooking over an open fire, Let it burn down to a nice bed of coals. Add the garlic, onions, bay leaves, thyme, stock, and half-and-half to your cast-iron Dutch oven and place on the coals (or medium heat on your stove). Add about a teaspoon of salt and a couple of grinds of pepper to the pot. Once it simmers add the potatoes, carrots and beans. Continue to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes and then add the peas, snap peas, smoked trout, and butter. Let it cook for another 15 minutes, then check to see if the potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Step 3 Top the soup with chopped fresh dill just before serving.

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