4ouncessmoked fish (such as herring, trout, oysters, or hot-smoked salmon)Or substitute 1 more can of clams
½sheet puff pastry (use more or less depending on the size of serving bowls)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Heat oil in a large soup pan over medium heat. Add the celery, and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove the celery from the pan, and set aside.
Add onion, Old Bay, and salt, and cook for about 5 minutes until onions soften.
Add stock and potatoes, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat to medium, and simmer 10 minutes.
Ladle out about one cup of potatoes, along with another cup of broth. Add to a blender, and blend until creamy. Return to pot.
Add celery back to the pot. Add the clams and herring to the pot, and turn heat to low.
Roll puff pastry dough out onto parchment paper.Note: This recipe was written using refrigerated puff pastry. If using puff pastry that has been previously frozen, roll it out to ¼" on a lightly floured surface.
Place your serving bowls rim-side down onto the pastry, and press down to make an indention. Use a knife to cut the pastry along the indentation lines.
If using oven-safe bowls:Fill the bowls with the hot seafood chowder. (Note: Soup must be piping hot when added to the bowls, or the steam created when reheating could make the pastry mushy.) Use your fingers to pull the pastry, to make it a little larger than the bowls. Press the pastry onto the edge of the bowls with your fingertips.Set the bowls on a baking sheet, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden.Allow pot pie to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.If bowls are not oven-safe: Keep chowder warm on the oven. Line a baking sheet with the parchment paper used during pastry preparation. Bake puff pastry for 20 minutes, or until golden. Add chowder to soup bowls, and top with baked pastry. Serve immediately.
Leftovers:Leftovers can be refrigerated and eaten within 1-2 days. The puff pastry may become soggy as it sits in the fridge, but the soup will still be delicious.
Notes
The seafood chowder can be made up to 2 days ahead of time, and then baked with the puff pastry when ready to serve. Chowder should be reheated prior to adding the pastry for baking.