Trout Chowder

I am generally not a big fan of fish. I tolerate salmon because my kids like it but that's usually about the only fish we have in our diet on an irregular basis. We rarely even do fish sticks here. Occasionally I'll get fish at a restaurant, but as a general rule I don't like to eat fish. HOWEVER, this chowder is really very good, with very little of a fish taste, and has recently been added to our "box" of favorite recipes.

Trout Chowder
by Fran Hopper, Wild Game Cookbook

2 - 3 lbs trout (We don't have trout readily available in our stores here, and we don't catch trout when we fish, so we use Tilapia for this recipe. Other fresh, white fish can be used, too.)
Bay leaf
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 - 3 medium russet potatoes (This is to your liking, we usually use 4 or 5.)
1 large carrot
3 stalks celery
2 medium onions (We usually only use one small onion.)
1 pint half-and-half
2 cups milk
1 Tablespoon flour, stirred into the milk
Grated cheddar cheese (Optional)
Paprika (Optional)

Boil trout in large kettle of boiling water with the bay leaf, lemon juice and salt until the fish flakes, approximately 10 minutes. (Or less if you use already cut fillets like us.) Remove from the kettle; skin and debone trout and break into bite-size pieces. Peel potatoes, carrots and onions; clean celery. Chop vegetables into bite-size pieces and boil in a small amount of water until barely tender. Drain and season to taste. Combine half-and-half and milk. Season to taste. Combine fish, vegetable and white sauce. Heat through, but do not boil. Serve in soup mugs and sprinkle with grated cheese (my family doesn't like it with the cheese) and a small amount of paprika. (My husband is the only one who likes paprika.)

** One thing to note is that when it says "season to taste" in this recipe it really means "season to taste and then add more". It doesn't seem to matter how much salt or pepper I add during the cooking process, we always seem to need more after we've put the chowder in our bowls.

** Another thing to note is that this makes a lot. The first time I made it, following the recipe exactly, we (a family of five) ate it for dinner twice and then I still had it for lunch for another two days. Unless you have a really big family, you might want to half the recipe.