Fulton Fish Market Chowder (Manhattan Chowder) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (using scissors makes this easy)
2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, diced
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, split, well washed and diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 cup minced garlic
1 cup plum tomato, drained, seeded, and diced
1 teaspoon saffron thread
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 quarts fish stock
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 lobster, raw cut into pieces
1 1 lb halibut fillets or 1 lb cod fish fillet, assorted cut into chunks
1/2 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb littleneck clams, scrubbed (or use canned but include the juice)
Peppery Toast
French baguette, sliced 1/4inch thick
1/4 cup olive oil
freshly cracked black pepper

Preparation

In a large dutch oven, cook bacon until crisp and fat is rendered. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Add the butter, onions, leeks, and celery, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, tomatoes, saffron, and seasonings. Stir for about 2 minutes, then add the white wine and cook for 5 minutes, or until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Add fish stock and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 300\u00b0F At the end of 45 minutes, add the potatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the lobster. Return to a boil and cook at a strong simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the fish chunks, shrimp, and clams. Cook until the fish is just cooked, but not yet flaking apart and the clams open. Meanwhile, Make the Peppery toast by brushing one side of each French bread slice with olive oil, sprinkle with cracked pepper, and toast in the oven until crisp (about 12 minutes).
Remove the bay leaves, taste for seasoning, and serve immediately with the Peppery toast for dunking into soup.