Some days you just get lucky and the craziest sounding bowl of chowder turns out to be one of the tastiest chowders I’ve had lately and it all started with prosciutto wrapped seasoned cod fillets baked over thinly sliced potatoes an adaptation of a saved Boston Globe recipe from a few years ago.

I prefer a mild white fish for the chowder and the seafood stock that I make is nicely flavored with shrimp & crab shells, clam broth, fish bones, and the usual vegetables included in any stock recipe.

It all turned into a two night chowder event…I made ½ a recipe and decided that it was fit for company so I made another batch the next day and had friends over for a bowl of chowder. Slim pickins at the fish monger for a mild fish for the second batch of chowder, but it turns out flounder was perfect for this dish and needed only a slight adaptation in baking. Where the cod was a thick fillet, the flounder considerably thinner fillets, skinned, seasoned and each fillet “side” folded in half before covering with the prosciutto and at that point I continued with the recipe adding in the leftover 1-1/2 cups of first night chowder and again thoroughly heating before adding the flounder.

1. Season cod with pepper, wrap prosciutto around fillet and set aside until potatoes are ready.

2. Thinly slice 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes and arrange in a baking dish, drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a few red pepper flakes. Roast (450°) potatoes for 25 minutes or until the edges turn crispy golden brown and the potatoes soften. Lay the fillets over the potatoes season with pepper and 2 minced green onions and a sprinkling of saffron (optional) bake for 7-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish fillets, 7 minutes was enough for me.  *Saffron is optional

3. Remove the crisped prosciutto and rough chop, rough chop the crispy browned potatoes and rough chop them. Set aside until ready for the pot.

4. Sauté 2 medium diced yellow potatoes (about ½ inch dice) in 2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter add a couple of sprigs of thyme and one bay leaf, potatoes will take on a touch of brown, toss in ½ half minced shallot, prosciutto and a small bunch of chopped green onions. Sauté for a minute or two and deglaze with ¼ cup white wine. Add 1-1/2-2 cups seafood stock and bring to simmer, add cream and simmer until the cubed potatoes are softened.

Mikey likes thicker chowder,  puree about 1/3rd or more of the finished soup with 1 piece of the reserved fillets. Pour the puree back into the remaining soup. Break fillets into large pieces and heat in soup until just warmed through.

Serve piping hot and garnish with minced parsley and chopped green onions…

I used my food processor for perfect slices of potatoes.