Recipe for Salmon Chowder

Salmon Chowder

Ingredients

.....1/2 pound boiling potatoes
.....1/2 teaspoon salt
.....2 1/2 cups milk
.....3/4 cup minced onion
.....2 tablespoons butter
.....1/2 pound salmon steak, skinned and boned
.....White pepper to taste
.....1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
.....1 tablespoon all purpose flour
.....2 ounces smoked salmon, chopped fine, if desired
.....2 tablespoons snipped fresh dill or 2 teaspoons dried
.....Lemon pepper crackers (recipe below)

Preparation

In a saucepan combine the potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the milk, bring the liquid to a boil, and simmer the potatoes for 10 minutes, or until they are almost tender. In another saucepan cook the onion in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until it is softened, put the salmon steak on the onion, and sprinkle it with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, the white pepper, and the lemon juice. Cook the salmon, its surface covered with the buttered round of wax paper and the pan covered with a lid, turning it once, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until it is just firm to the touch, and transfer it with a slotted spatula to a plate. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and cook the mixture, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the milk mixture, whisking, and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the salmon steak, breaking it into chunks, the smoked salmon, the dill, and additional white pepper and salt to taste, cook the chowder over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until it is heated through, and serve it with the Lemon Pepper Crackers.

Yield: About 4 cups

Lemon Pepper Crackers

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt for sprinkling on the crackers

In a bowl blend the flour, the pepper, the rind, and the butter until the mixture resembles meal, add the sour cream and the lemon juice, and toss the mixture, adding 1 teaspoon water if necessary, until it just forms a dough. Gather the dough into a ball and chill it, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 15 minutes. Roll out the dough 1/16 inch thick on a lightly floured surface and with a 2 inch round cutter cut out 16 rounds. Bake the rounds, sprinkled with coarse salt, on an ungreased baking sheet in the middle of a preheated 400 degree oven for 12 minutes, or until they are golden. Transfer the crackers to a rack and let them cool for 5 minutes.

Yield: About 16 crackers