FRIDAY FISH: Tuna-Asparagus Pasta Chowder

Many a hearty meal can be cooked using canned tuna! If you’re a chowder fan, but only have tuna on hand, you’re in fine fettle today. Using a basic clam chowder footprint, here we sauté a few vegetables, add some shrimp or vegetable stock, two cans of tuna, asparagus, potatoes, and tiny pasta, a little milk whisked together with flour, et voila, yummy chow-dah!! Save a buck and skip another Friday Fish tuna salad sandwich night.

8 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon EACH olive oil and salted butter
Pinch crushed red pepper
Medium onion cut into small dice
2 EACH: minced cloves garlic; medium carrots and stalks celery with leaves cut into small dice
¾ teaspoon EACH: kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, dry thyme, dill weed, crushed rosemary
Small handful minced fresh parsley plus extra for garnish
Bay leaf
½ cup dry white wine, can sub stock
3 quarts homemade fish or shrimp stock or a combination of vegetable broth and clam juice, or chicken broth as a last, but still useful choice (see below for directions to make shrimp stock)
2 medium unpeeled red potatoes cut into small dice, about 1 cup potatoes
½ cup small pasta such as ditalini or macaroni
2 (5-ounce) cans tuna, undrained unless in oil, then drain—broken up with pastry blender or fork and seasoned with a pinch each salt and pepper
½ pound asparagus, trimmed and sliced into ½-inch pieces. Reserve tips to sauté for garnish
¼ cup EACH frozen corn and peas
1 cup whole milk whisked together with 3 tablespoons all-purpose, unbleached flour and a few drops of hot sauce (can sub half and half or heavy cream)
1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese for garnish, about 4 ounces

Instructions

SAUTÉ VEGETABLES: Heat oil, butter, and crushed red pepper for a minute over medium flame in an 8-quart soup pot. Add onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Stir in spices, herbs, and bay leaf. Cover and cook, stirring often, for 7-8 minutes or until softened. Pour in wine and cook two minutes or until wine is nearly absorbed.
ADD STOCK/BRING TO A BOIL/ADD POTATOES, PASTA, AND TUNA and reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes or until nearly tender. Taste and adjust seasonings.
SAUTÉ ASPARAGUS TIPS IN A SKILLET/SET ASIDE: Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium-high flame with a tablespoon of olive oil. Add asparagus tips, season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and sauté, stirring, for a minute or two. Remove from heat and reserve. (In a pinch, skip the sauté, slice them thinly, and use raw.)
ADD THE OTHER ASPARAGUS PIECES, CORN, AND PEAS TO THE SOUP POT and simmer until all vegetables are tender—another 3-4 minutes. Stir in milk mixture and cook at a low simmer, stirring often, for a few minutes until thickened. Do not boil. Taste and adjust seasonings one last time.
SERVE HOT WITH GARNISHES: Ladle into bowls and top with reserved minced parsley, grated Cheddar, and reserved sautéed asparagus tips. Serve with oyster crackers or saltines.
STORAGE: Store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently over low heat without boiling. Do not freeze or, if you do, freeze the chowder before you add milk. Thaw, heat, and whisk in milk slurry at that point.

Notes

SHRIMP STOCK: If you’ve a few cups frozen shrimp shells in the freezer, dump them into a 6-quart stock pot along with a chopped onion, its peels and ends, a chopped carrot, a chopped celery stalk, some parsley, a bay leaf, a teaspoon of kosher salt and a teaspoon of peppercorns (and any other fresh vegetables you have with the exception of cruciferous vegetables like cabbage or broccoli, etc.), a tablespoon or two of olive oil, and cook over medium flame, stirring often, until the shells are defrosted and everything is quite warm. Add water to cover plus two inches and bring a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook about 15 minutes. Strain in the sink into another pot, pressing on the solids to extract extra flavor.