New England Clam Chowder
New England's creamy clam chowder: fresh clams, salt pork and potato in a rich milk-and-cream broth.
Overview
The benchmark New England chowder: creamy, milky-white, thickened by potato starch rather than flour, and named in the same regional argument that produces Manhattan's red tomato version up the coast. You steam the clams open in a heavy pot with a splash of water, strain the precious liquor (which is half the dish's flavour) through wet muslin, then start the soup proper with bacon rendered down in oil until golden and sweetly smoky. Onion, garlic and diced potato follow, then the reserved clam liquor and a measure of fish stock, and finally the milk poured in and brought back to a careful boil. You simmer covered until the potatoes are tender, uncover for the last ten minutes to thicken slightly, then stir in cream, the picked clam meat and chopped parsley at the very end with the heat low (cream split in a chowder is a small disaster). A few clams left in their shells on top of each bowl, a handful of oyster crackers on the side, and a winter afternoon's worth of comfort in front of you.
Ingredients
Protein
- 1 ½ kg clams
- 3 bacon slices (chopped)
Fat
- 2 teaspoons oil
Vegetables
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 750 grams potato (diced)
Aromatics
- 1 garlic clove (crushed)
Seasonings
- 330 ml fish stock
- 500 ml milk
- 125 ml whipping cream
- 3 tablespoon flat leaf parsley (chopped)
Method
Stage 1 - Cook clams
- Wash the clams thoroughly, discarding any that have broken shells or fail to close when you tap them.
- Put the clams in a large heavy-based saucepan with 250 ml of water.
- Cover, and simmer for about 4 minutes, or until the clams have opened.
- Discard any clams that fail to open.
- Strain the liquid through a wet muslin-lined sieve and save the liquor.
- Pull most of the clams out of their shells, leaving a few intact as a garnish.
Stage 2 - Make chowder
- Heat the oil in a saucepan.
- Add the bacon, onion and garlic and cook, stirring continuously over a medium heat until the onion is soft and the bacon is golden.
- Add the potato and stir well.
- Add enough water to the reserved clam liquor to make 330 ml of liquid in total.
- Pour this along with the stock into the saucepan and bring to the boil.
- Pour in the milk and bring back to the boil.
- Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potato is tender.
- Uncover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
Stage 3 - Finish and serve
- Add the cream, clam meat and parsley to the soup.
- Taste for seasoning.
- Heat through gently, but do not allow to boil.
- Serve immediately with the clams in their shells.
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