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Bon Appétit

Monkfish and Cauliflower Chowder

4.3

(12)

Image may contain Food Dish Meal Bowl Stew and Soup Bowl
Alex Lau

The small bits of cauliflower gives the chowder broth a nice clean thickness.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

1

medium head of cauliflower

¼

cup olive oil, plus more

2

medium leeks, white and pale-green parts only, sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds

4

garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2

14.5-ounce cans cherry tomatoes

1

cup low-sodium chicken broth

1½

pounds monkfish or cod, cut into 1–2-inch pieces

¼

cup chopped pitted green olives

¼

cup tarragon leaves

Baguette (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Remove leaves from cauliflower and cut head in half. Coarsely chop 1 half, then pulse in a food processor until a fine crumble forms. Break remaining cauliflower into small florets.

    Step 2

    Heat ¼ cup oil in a medium pot over medium-high. Cook leeks, tossing often, until softened, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Mix in garlic and all of the cauliflower. Add tomatoes and broth and use a wooden spoon to crush some of the tomatoes. Bring mixture to a simmer, then add monkfish, olives, and tarragon; season with salt and pepper. Return to a simmer; cover pot and cook, stirring often, until flavors soften and blend together, about 20 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

    Step 3

    Ladle chowder into bowls, drizzle with more oil, and grind some pepper over. Serve with bread for dunking.

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Reviews (12)

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  • I really liked this one! Pulverizing half the cauliflower to thicken the soup at the end was a really nice touch. I used cod for the fish in this recipe, and I think it worked out great.

    • Katherine

    • Connecticut

    • 5/13/2023

  • I rarely leave review for recipes, but this is just too delicious to not recognize. At where I shop the monkfish tail is actually cheaper than wild cod, so it is definitely a good alternative. The firmness of monkfish just works so well in this soup, it doesn't just flake into pieces like many other white fish would. Might have found the perfect tomato and fish stew recipe for my family's liking!

    • Tracy

    • New York, NY

    • 6/29/2021

  • I was hesitant but this was incredible! Definitely season more at each step (salt!) I ended up using more broth (2.4 c) and threw in shrimp heads to season the broth more along with red pepper flakes (when you put the leeks in) and upped the amount of garlic + herbs (included basil too)

    • Tiffany

    • Brooklyn, NY

    • 11/6/2020

  • Great start on this recipe but changed a bunch of things: Added 1/4 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb. Sauteed garlic, fennel and leeks until soft, then deglazed pot with 1/4 cup dry white wine. Added 1/2 cup finely processed cauliflower and simmered 5-10 min. Added sea salt, pepper, hot pepper flakes, dried tarragon (about 1 TBS). Then added 1 16oz can whole tomatoes and broth (chopped tomatoes into quarters), added 1 can fire roasted tomatoes. Added 1 quart shrimp and lobster stock and 1 cup chicken stock (that's what I had open). Added a few chopped fresh grape tomatoes. Simmered about 30 minutes. Added cauliflower florets and olives, simmered until almost soft. Added cubed fish - I used fresh Atlantic cod. Simmered 20 minutes - it still needed a little hot pepper flakes, more salt and fresh pepper. Definitely recommend fish stock of some sort and the fennel went well. Allison said - superb! - TR Christmas Eve 12/19 :-)

    • allison61

    • Virginia

    • 12/24/2019

  • I say yes, hubby not so much so as, he cannot get out of his head how ugly monkfish are. I cut the recipe in half (still have some left over) but kept the broth amount the same. I didn't pick up fresh tarragon or dig any out of the snow, only to find my freeze dried out of stock. Instead I added just a wee bit of (1/4 t.) of better than bouillon lobster base and a pinch of korean red pepper flakes.

    • Anonymous

    • Cumberland Hill, RI

    • 1/12/2018

  • I quite liked the recipe but it definitely needed some substitutions. I would use fish/ shellfish broth to retain the seafood flavor-the chicken stock makes it far too bland. As other reviewers have mentioned, I would also cut back on the amount of cauliflower-it absorbs the liquid and ends up more like mush than a stew.

    • Nomadic paleo foodie

    • London, UK

    • 12/8/2017

  • This was not the greatest soup I ever had. It lacked flavor but I did jazz it up with some Caribbean hot sauce. I also had a hard time distinguishing cauliflower from the fish I used (cod). After stirring and blending, textures were pretty much the same. I could not find canned cherry tomatoes, so used canned diced tomatoes.

    • Anonymous

    • Roswell, GA

    • 10/18/2017