Recipe: creamy chowder gratin
This crumb-topped classic is both warming and filling

This recipe by Harry Hook for Trewithen Dairy includes generous chunks of fish, sweetcorn and bacon in a creamy sauce. It is topped with a meaty crumb and is the perfect way to warm the cockles on chilly days. The gratin can be served with crusty bread to mop up the sauce.
Ingredients
- 20g butter
- 1 onion, sliced
- 300g fish pie mix
- 200g prawns
- 100g bacon lardons
- 2 medium waxy potatoes (e.g. désirée), peeled and cubed
- 200g tinned sweetcorn, drained
- ½ tsp cayenne
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 200ml fish stock
- 30g Trewithen Dairy Cornish clotted cream
- small bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 150g stale bread
- 100g chorizo
Method
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- Heat the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat before adding the onion. Allow to sweat gently for 5 mins, then push to one side and add the bacon lardons.
- When the bacon is golden brown, add the plain flour and stir well. Allow to cook for a couple of mins.
- While stirring, pour the fish stock in and bring to a simmer. Add the cubed potatoes and cover for approx 15 mins or until the potatoes are tender.
- Add the sweetcorn, fish and seafood, before stirring through the clotted cream for richness. Add the cayenne to taste and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Simmer for a couple of mins, then stir through half the chopped parsley and remove from the heat.
- To make the crumb, blitz the bread and chorizo in a food processor until you have a fine crumb. Add seasoning to taste – depending on the saltiness of the chorizo.
- Place a frying pan over a medium to high heat and add the breadcrumb mix. The chorizo contains all the oils needed to coat the breadcrumbs. Fry for 2-3 mins until crisp and golden.
- To serve, place the chowder into a serving bowl and spoon the crumb over the top. Serve with crusty bread.
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