Cod & Fennel Chowder

I'm always on the lookout for good, easy seafood options, and appreciate simple, one-dish recipes.  And there are chilly winter days that are just right for soup.  This recipe fits all those criteria, with paleo options if that's what you're looking for.

Recipe

2 fennel bulbs, fronds & core removed, chopped
1 onion chopped
1 pint cream (coconut creamer for paleo)
1 qt stock
1 - 1 1/2 lb cod, cut into chunks
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 lb bacon, chopped
salt & pepper

Crisp up your bacon in a large soup pot, then remove but leave in that grease.  Next, in goes the fennel and onion until soft.  Then add the creamer and stock.  Once it simmers, add in your cod and cook for about 10 minutes.  Squeeze in the lemon juice, sprinkle in some salt and pepper, and top with the bacon.

Notes

This was not a premeditated dinner.  I actually went to Morton Williams for some red meat, but saw their usually unimpressive seafood cooler had a bunch of cod as the day's special.  So I fired up the mobile Internet, recovered this recipe, and went to work.  Things looked grim, though, when I went to the produce section and there was no fennel.  The only thing that looked like my very vague conception of raw fennel was labeled anise.  Back to the smartphone!  Wikipedia calls fennel and anise "similar-tasting"; I also figured that, if either one is good enough for the anise swallowtail, who am I to discriminate?  Onward!

The grocery store was the trickiest part.  Otherwise, the recipe was pretty simple.  The fennel-onion saute seemed to take a while; not sure if it needed that long since you want it kind of crisp in the chowder.  I also figured the whole thing was (over-)done when the cod chunks started to fall apart.