Yet another variant is mixing the diced scallops with small pieces of haddock, creating a simple seafood chowder, guaranteed to make you happy.
Consider serving a small tossed salad and a non-creamy dressing with the chowder to make a complete meal. Also consider serving a light semi-dry white wine like Pinot Grigio, chilled. I like a Greek salad with a lemon vinaigrette dressing for colors and taste contrasts with the chowder. Both of those recipes are in Food Nirvana.
Ingredients: (makes 4 [or more] adult servings of chowder)
1 lb. of diced sea scallops (or a mixture of 1/2 lb. of small haddock pieces and 3/4 lb. of sea scallops)
16 oz. (or more) of clam broth
1 pint of heavy cream
1 medium onion, diced
1 very large russet potato, peeled and diced
2 strips of dry cured hickory smoked bacon (I buy it at Burger's Smokehouse® or Broadbent Hams® via the Internet)
½ tsp. of White pepper
Sea salt to taste
1 tbsp. of butter
2 tbsp. of flour (1 tbsp. more if extra clam broth is used)
1 tbsp. of cornstarch if extra clam broth is used
2 tbsp. of chopped fresh parsley as a garnish
Saltine crackers and butter or oyster crackers
Directions:
Fry the two strips of bacon on low to medium heat until there is no uncooked fat, but do not make the bacon overly crisp and do not burn it or overheat the bacon fat.
Remove the bacon to a paper towel. Break it into small pieces when it has cooled. Set the bacon aside.
Dice the onion into ½" or smaller pieces. Put the pieces into the skillet with the hot bacon grease. Add the butter and the ½ tsp. of white pepper. Sauté the onion on low heat until it is translucent.
Turn off the heat and add the 2 tbsp. of the flour to the skillet and mix well.
Dice the potato into cubes about 3/8" on a side. Put the clam juice and the potato pieces into a three quart covered saucepan and heat on medium high heat until just boiling.
Reduce the heat to medium or medium low and allow the potatoes to simmer for 8 minutes, adding a very small amount of water if necessary to barely cover the potato pieces.
Add the skillet contents to the saucepan while stirring, increase the heat to medium and stir to mix well and thicken the chowder as it starts to boil.
Add the scallop pieces and continue to cook on medium heat for two to three minutes with stirring. If the chowder has thickened enough proceed to the next step, else use an additional tbsp. of flour and the tbsp. of cornstarch, mixed in ¼ cup of water, add it to the chowder and heat on medium high to barely boiling while stirring.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the heavy cream and the small pieces of bacon, mix well and heat the chowder only up to a simmer, with gently stirring. Do not boil it.
Serve the chowder in pre-warmed crocks or bowls. Garnish it with the freshly chopped parsley. Serve saltine crackers and butter or oyster crackers.
Let each guest decide whether or not to add sea salt and/or pepper to further season the chowder. It is intentionally underseasoned in this recipe to support personal preferences at serving time.
Including small tossed salads (in chilled bowls) with a non-creamy dressing makes this a complete meal, and it is a nice accompaniment with texture and flavor contrasts.
Yes, a light fresh tasting semi-dry white wine, like Pinot Grigio, is a fine beverage to serve with this meal.
Enjoy!