Last week, we received an email from a guest saying she’d had the Chicken & Prosciutto Chowder from our deli and it was “just fantastic!!”.  She asked if we could share the recipe, so we asked Wyatt, our chef who made it. Wyatt comes from a strong cooking background, most recently having worked at Jardinière in Hayes Valley, and has quite an arsenal of recipes up his sleeve.  Here’s how he made this soup–let us know how it goes for you at home!

Bi-Rite Market’s Chicken & Prosciutto Chowder

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups yellow onions, medium diced

1/4 cup butter (if you have pork fat, use 1/2 pork fat, 1/2 butter)

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup dry white wine

4 cups milk

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups bell peppers (medium diced)

(NOTE: the above ingredients may be used as a base for any chowder, just add the other flavors as you choose. Below are the additional ingredients for this particular one)

2 cups fennel (medium diced)

2 cups celery (medium diced)

2 cups cooked chicken (medium diced)

1 cup prosciutto (sliced into small thin strips)

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup lemon juice

Dash of nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cut all veggies, proteins and herbs

2. Sear your peppers, celery, fennel with a little oil until they are just soft. Pull them off heat and set aside.

3. Gently melt butter, then add your onion, garlic, bay leaf, and cook slowly for 10 minutes. Keep a close eye not to caramelize the onions and garlic.

4. Add your flour and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly so you don’t burn the flour. It should start to smell nutty and a little like popcorn.

5. Add your wine, let reduce for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir again so it doesn’t burn.

6. With a whisk slowly start adding all your liquid in two batches. Make sure to whisk so that the flour is incorporated each time, and to prevent the roux from separating. Bring to a boil.

7. Once it’s started to boil, turn heat down to a simmer (don’t continue to boil or it will burn. Flour and dairy products are very sensitive to heat.) Add your proteins and veggies, and let simmer for about 20 minutes or so. Pull off heat and add lemon, parsley, and a dash of nutmeg.

Wyatt’s tricks of the trade (for any recipe!):

1. Season throughout the cooking process: when sautéing veggies, when adding liquid, and when checking at the end.

2. Have fun and trust your instincts!