Christmas Eve in my husband’s family has always been their big night. We have snacks, a light dinner, dessert, then play rummy for several hours before opening presents at the end of the evening. Tradition for them used to be whatever they felt like having that night, but in my family, my aunt’s clam chowder had become synonymous with Christmas Eve, so when I married and started spending the evening with my husband’s family, I adapted the recipe, and brought my in-laws into the tradition. While my aunt’s clam chowder is wonderful, I have a love of Italian cooking and customs, so here’s my adaptation which follows the idea of eating “seven fishes” on the holiday. May you be inspired and possibly start your own tradition with my chowder recipe. Happy holidays!

7 Fishes Christmas Chowder

  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Persons: 8-10
  • Difficulty: Medium

  • Ingredients
  • 8 strips bacon, diced
  • 1 lg. yellow onion
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can anchovies, chopped
  • 2 cans of crabmeat (drained, reserve liquid)
  • 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • (1) 6 oz. salmon fillet, cubed
  • (1) 6 oz. tilapia or other white fish fillet, cubed
  • 18-20 raw medium shrimp (peeled/deveined/tail-off)
  • 6-8 small scallops
  • 3 cans evaporated milk, plus enough 1/2 & 1/2 to equal 6 total cups of milk
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 12 small yukon gold potatoes or 3 large russets, diced
  1. Instructions
  2. Sauté the bacon, onion, garlic & anchovies together with olive oil
  3. Then drain 2 cans of crabmeat, reserving liquid, and add to the crab juice, enough chicken or vegetable stock to equal 3 cups.
  4. Add potatoes, cover and simmer until potatoes are done, about 12 minutes.
  5. Season to taste with salt, white pepper, sweet paprika, Old Bay seasoning, and 1/8 tsp Zataran’s Crab Boil hot pepper liquid (use sparingly — this is very potent!)
  6. Reduce heat and add milk, crabmeat, salmon, tilapia, shrimp and scallops and simmer until fish is opaque.
  7. In a separate pan, put 12 fresh mussels, half-cover with white wine, cover and simmer until mussels are all open. Add the opened mussels and some of the liquid to the chowder just before serving.
  8. Serve with warm french bread or croissants.