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Shrimp Chowder

Soups | February 2, 2016 | By

Hearty but delicate; garlicky and delicious.

Shrimp Chowder
Serves 4
Growing up, our closest neighbors lived a quarter mile down our dirt road from our house. They had a horse, a dog, and two turkeys. I remember very little about the mama, LaVonne, though she looked after me in the afternoons once the Kindergarten bus dropped me off. My mother still has a little 3x5 notecard with LaVonne's notes for this rich and wonderful chowder, now enriched by her own edits. It's become our annual Christmas Eve dinner, paired with a crab and avacado salad and a dry prosecco. Don't skimp on the garlic; using a powdered form helps eliminate the sharpness and bite while providing plenty of anti-vampire protection.
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
30 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
30 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 Tbsp. butter or olive oil
  2. ¼ c. sliced scallions
  3. 1 clove fresh garlic, mashed
  4. 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (or 1/2 tsp chili powder)
  5. 3 oz. cream cheese
  6. 2 cans of condensed cream of potato soup
  7. 1 ½ cans of milk
  8. 2 cups of good quality peeled tailless shrimp, thawed in fridge overnight if previously frozen*
  9. 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (or thawed frozen corn)
  10. 1/2 tsp garlic salt, more to taste
Instructions
  1. Melt butter over medium heat and sauté scallions, stirring frequently, until soft (3-5 min). Add garlic and cayenne/chili powder and continue stirring, about 1 minute - do not let garlic burn or get too brown. Add cream cheese and stir constantly. You MUST soften this mixture well before adding anything else. Let it come to a creamy, fully melted consistency before continuing.
  2. Gradually add soup to aromatics and cream cheese, stirring thoroughly. Once combined, slowly add milk while stirring. Add remainder of ingredients and heat until warmed through - about 3-5 minutes. Add additional garlic salt to taste.
Notes
  1. Some day I'll swap out the single clove of fresh garlic for two heads of roasted garlic, mashed, to the softened cream cheese and I promise I'll tell you how it turns out...
  2. *precooked frozen shrimp work fine; however, the taste and consistency is better when you buy uncooked and briefly steam, saute, or poach them yourself and then add to this dish - even if you do it up to a day in advance and keep them in the fridge.
Adapted from notes by LaVonne Murphy
Adapted from notes by LaVonne Murphy
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