Hearty Fish Chowder (Sue Bayly)

1/2 cup chopped onion
butter to fry onion in
4 pieces precooked bacon broken into bits
2 tbsp flour
½ cup sliced or shredded carrots
½ cup sliced celery
2 cups cubed raw potatoes
~2 cups boiling water
1 bayleaf (optional, &/or 1 clove, &/or ½ tsp dillweed or ¼ tsp thyme)
1 lb fresh or frozen fish fillets, cubed (e.g. cod, pollack, haddock or other thick fish)
~1.5 cups milk (or partially substitute ½ cup dry white wine, &/or 1 cup half&half cream)
salt to taste (may not need much as the bacon is usually quite salty)
dash of white pepper (optional)

Sauté onion in butter until tender adding precooked bacon towards the end. Stir in flour and add potatoes, celery, carrots, desired herbs, and enough boiling water to cover the vegetables. Simmer until vegetables are half-cooked. Add fish and simmer until it flakes easily with a fork (5-10 minutes; but add fish earlier if it’s not thawed). Add milk and heat gently until warmed through. Optionally, some of milk can be replaced by dry white wine (½ cup) and/or half-and-half cream (e.g. 1 cup).

Makes ~6 servings.