Recipe: Caldillo de Congrio (Pescado)

Here you go Skipper...

Caldillo de Congrio (Pescado)
Conger (or Fish) Chowder

Immortalized by Pablo Neruda in his Elementos Odas'"Oda al Caldillo de Congrio," this classic fish soup of the Chilean coast is simple, tasty, and filling. If you first read Neruda's poem, though, you will cook it up in a haze of pleasure and dine on it in heaven. If you want to add potatoes for heartiness, cook them, diced, in a little fish stock until tender and add with the fish. Serve hot to 4 as a meal, ideally with lots of crusty bread and good Chilean wine.

2 Tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped finely
4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped, juices reserved (canned tomatoes are fine)
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound eel, skinned, or other fish fillets
1 pound potatoes, diced and cooked til tender in fish stock (optional)
1 cup seafood stock
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
Garnish: finely chopped parsley or scallions

Heat the oil in a large pot and stir in garlic, onions, and jalapeno pepper and saut until soft. Add the tomato pieces and cook down over medium heat, about 8 minutes. Toss in the eel and the shrimp, covering and steaming for about 2 minutes. Remove cover and let stew gently for 5 more minutes, until the eel is just done and a little shrunk. Pour in the reserved tomato juice and stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the cooked potatoes, if you decide to use them, and return to a simmer. Stir in cream. When the chowder is simmering, it is ready to serve. Fork the eel off the bone into the soup, discarding the bone. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with minced parsley or scallion.