Every restaurant on Cape Cod has at least one chowder on its menu, whether it be clam, lobster or seafood, and they come in an endless variety of tastes and textures. I developed a chowder several years ago, along with one of the two best food guys I ever worked with, that presented a Portuguese twist on an already unusual version. Lenny Berner and I played with this for about a week, and after serving it as a weekly special, it remained on the menu thereafter. To the best of my knowledge, Lenny is still making it at Chester Restaurant, in Provincetown, today.
1 # linguica, cut in 1/2 inch dice2 leeks, cleaned, halved lengthwise, and cut into half moons
1 large Spanish onion, diced1# Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut in 3/4 inch dice
4 qts of stock, either lobster or fish
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1 pt heavy cream
salt and white pepper to taste
1/2 # scallops
1 bottle of white wine (your choice)
Melt the butter in a stock pot and saute the linguica on medium heat until it has rendered its fat. Add the leeks and onion, and saute until the onion softens and becomes translucent.
Add the flour and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the stock and the potatoes, bring to boil and then quickly reduce the heat to a light simmer. Cook until the potatoes are almost done, about 10 minutes. Add the heavy cream and continue cooking for another 5-6 minutes.
Poach the scallops in the white wine for just about 3 minutes. Just before serving, add the scallops to the chowder and heat through. Adjust seasonings with salt and white paper to taste.
I know this sounds a little involved, but it really does come together quite easily. Lenny and I used to make a fresh batch every two days, and we always looked forward to the process. I promise you it's worth the effort. The food critic from Bloomberg Network in the summer of 1999 suggested this chowder was good enough to market commercially. Give it a try and see if you agree.