Dairy-free seafood chowder on bone broth

Chowder is the kind of food that makes a careful way of eating feel entirely livable. Creamy, warm, filling, the texture of real comfort, and every ingredient in this bowl stays on the Core list. It is built on bone broth instead of a flour roux, and the creaminess comes from coconut milk instead of dairy, so you get the bowl you were craving without any trade-off.

The cod and salmon make this a real meal. Both are a source of protein, and salmon in particular is a source of omega-3 fats, involved in calming the body's inflammatory signaling. Set on a base of bone broth, with its collagen and gelatin, this is a soft, nourishing dish for a day when you want the meal to feel like care.

A bowl of chowder asks you to slow down. You sweat the vegetables low and gentle, you slip the fish in at the end so it stays tender, you finish with coconut milk and let it go silky. Steam off the pot, a little fresh thyme on top. That is the whole reward.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 8 oz carrots, diced
• 5 oz celery, diced
• 8 oz fennel bulb, diced
• 8 oz white sweet potato, diced (this is a sweet potato variety and is Core; it is not a nightshade white potato; for a sweeter color use a standard sweet potato, or swap in taro, cassava, or extra cauliflower for a different Core root)
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme, plus more to garnish
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 quart bone broth (chicken broth works)
• 1/3 lb skinless cod, no thicker than 1 inch
• 1/3 lb skinless salmon, no thicker than 1 inch
• 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
• Sea salt

Method

Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, fennel, sweet potato, thyme, and bay leaf, and sweat them gently about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, without letting them brown.

Pour in the bone broth and bring it to a boil, then reduce to medium. Slide in the cod and salmon and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until the fish is just done and the vegetables are tender.

Remove the bay leaf. Lift out the fish, flake it, check it for any stray bones, and return it to the pot. Stir in the coconut milk and season with sea salt.

Garnish with fresh thyme and serve hot. For the silkiest coconut cream, the source chills a can of full-fat coconut milk 24 hours, opens it undisturbed, and scoops the risen cream off the top.

Instant Pot variation

Chowder takes well to the Instant Pot. Use the saute setting to sweat the carrots, celery, fennel, sweet potato, thyme, and bay leaf in the oil about 10 minutes. Add the bone broth, seal, and pressure-cook on high for about 4 minutes, then quick-release (Instant Pot time untested, estimated from the stovetop baseline; check the vegetables and adjust). Switch back to saute, slide in the fish, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes until just cooked. Remove the bay leaf, flake the fish back in, stir in the coconut milk, and season.

*Adapted from a-squirrel-in-the-kitchen*