Recipe: Seattle Seafood Chowder

10 servings

Garlic croutons:

- 5 slices hearty white bread, crusts removed

- 3 tablespoons butter

- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and forced through a press

Soup:

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped

- 1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped

- 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

- 1 medium clove garlic, peeled and minced

- 2 cans (28 ounces each) whole tomatoes

- 1 cup tomato juice

- 1 bottle (8 ounces) clam juice

- ¼ teaspoon salt

- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

- 1 ½ cups water

- ¾ cup white rice

- ½ pound tiny bay scallops

- ½ pound small cooked shrimp

- ½ pound crabmeat

- 1 ¼ teaspoons Tabasco

- 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley

Garnishes:

- 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into ½-inch dice

- 1 can (6 ounces) hickory-smoked almonds, coarsely chopped

1. To make the croutons: Cut bread into ¾-inch cubes. Melt butter and add garlic. Pour over bread and spread into a baking pan. Toast in a preheated 300-degree oven for 25 minutes or until golden, stirring once.

2. To make the soup: Heat olive oil over medium heat in a 6-quart pot. Add onion, carrot, green pepper and garlic; sauté 5 minutes.

3. Put tomatoes with the liquid (1 can at a time) into a food processor and chop to a coarse purée. Add to the vegetables with tomato juice, clam juice, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 30 minutes. (This is the soup base. If making ahead, cool, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Adjust the seasonings as necessary.)

4. While soup base is cooking, cook the rice. Bring 1 ½ cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add rice and bring back to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook 15 minutes. Stir with a fork and cool. Then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

5. Bring a medium pan of water to a boil, add scallops and time for 2 minutes. Drain and refrigerate until ready to use.

6. Reheat soup if necessary. Fifteen minutes before serving the soup, stir in the rice, scallops, shrimp, crab, Tabasco and parsley. Simmer 10 minutes to heat through. Do not boil.

7. The soup is served with bowls of the garnishes (garlic croutons, cucumber and almonds) for individual serving.