This fish chowder recipe comes from a 1931 cookbook that belonged to my husband’s Great-grandmother and was gifted to me this Christmas. Tucked inside the yellowed pages are handwritten recipes from both her and her mother, making some of them from Great-great-grandma’s kitchen.
When I shared this on my Facebook page many of you asked for some of the recipes and I declared to cook through the book and share a recipe each month here on the blog with you. This new series, “Cooking through the Year with Great-Grandma” is now birthed.
It’s a Searchlight Recipe book put out by Household Magazine, which tested and studied home products under real home conditions from 1925 to 1942. But when WWII hit, they closed the The Searchlight in 1942.
This first recipe is simple titled Fish Chowder, but it is not a cream based chowder, but rather a fish chowder with tomatoes and broth as the main base. It’s a hearty, rich, comfort-food kind of soup, just like old-fashioned ham and bean soup and creamy delicata squash soup.
I’ve slightly altered the recipe, it originally called for a cup of diced potatoes, but because my husband and I are currently eating a Keto diet (high fat, low carb) I substituted a cup of radishes in it’s place, making this a keto friendly or Trim Healthy Mama S Fish Chowder Recipe.
The radishes truly cook up just like potatoes, my husband didn’t even know the difference both in texture or appearance. I wasn’t sure what the flavor would end up on this, after all, pretty simple ingredients, but it was really quite good and we both enjoyed it for lunch over several days.
The original recipe calls for salmon but you could swap in almost any fish or or seafood to make this a seafood chowder.
Old-Fashioned Fish Chowder Recipe
2 cups shredded cooked Salmon
1 cup halved radishes (you can also use 1 cup diced potatoes)
1 small onion, diced
1 cup cooked tomatoes (I used a cup of home canned stewed tomatoes)
2 cups broth
1 Tablespoon lard or bacon grease (if you don’t have either of these use butter or coconut oil)
1 Tablespoon butter
Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Melt 1 Tablespoon of lard/bacon grease in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Saute onion until slightly browned.
- Add radishes, tomatoes, broth, and butter. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender.
- Season with salt & pepper to taste.
- Add in salmon, heat thoroughly, and serve.
Fish Chowder Recipe- Great-Grandma’s from 1931 & Keto friendly
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded cooked Salmon
- 1 cup halved radishes you can also use 1 cup diced potatoes
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 cup cooked tomatoes I used a cup of home canned stewed tomatoes
- 2 cups broth
- 1 Tablespoon lard or bacon grease if you don’t have either of these use butter or coconut oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Melt 1 Tablespoon of lard/bacon grease in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Saute onion until slightly browned.
- Add radishes, tomatoes, broth, and butter. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender.
- Season with salt & pepper to taste.
- Add in salmon, heat thoroughly, and serve.
Do you have any of your families old recipes? Will you be trying out this fish chowder recipe ?
I have the same cookbook from my grandma, along with recipes and recipe notes she added inside the book in her own handwriting! What a treasure!
I have that cookbook! It was my grandmother’s and is a gem.