Tuna Chowder

This is a wonderfully easy dish. It takes time to cook the potatoes through, but other than that it is very simple. I made this while the housemother and boys were at ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education). Also, any kind of canned fish would work in place of the tuna, assuming it can be flaked like tuna usually is (e.g., salmon, sardines, etc.).

Tuna Chowder

Serves 2

2 Tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped (3/4 to 1 cup)
8 ounces all-purpose or new potatoes, peeled (if thick-skinned), cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup milk
One 6 1/2 ounce can tuna (chunk light, in oil or water), drained
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter and saute onion for about 8 minutes, until golden.
2. Add the diced potatoes and milk. Bring to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes, until potatoes are very tender.
3. Add tuna and salt. Stir and heat through.
4. Serve very hot.

You may multiply this dish as you need. We doubled it and it was just enough for the five of us. I did not include the salt. I figured between the natural salt in the onions and the salt in the canned fish we did not need any extra. I also had a few minutes to allow this to thicken and it was even better. We did not serve this to the boys very hot, because I had that few minutes for it to stand it cooled so that the boys could have it out of the pot and we adults could have it out of the pot and it was still hot enough for us as well.

So, you might be wondering, what is the difference between chowder and soup? Very little, except that chowder is made with potatoes, the fat is usually salt pork or bacon, and most chowders are made with milk or cream. This is meant to be a quickie supper, but if you let it stand awhile--even refrigerate it overnight--the potatoes thicken the liquid even more and make the chowder even more comforting.

Thank you to "What to Cook..."