Clam chowder – an American classic 🇺🇸
You cannot go to Boston and not try clam chowder.
It’s the quintessential New England meal – it literally smells of Boston 😋 . For me it also brings back memories of the windy shores of Cape Cod in early spring – they say that the meal goes back to the first settlers, who boiled salted fish with ship’s biscuits in those first harsh days in Provincetown and in Plymouth.
There are a few variants, but this is the classic recipe and I am serving it to celebrate this great American meal 🥘
By the way – did you know that 21st January is National New England Clam Chowder Day? If you missed that to celebrate this great meal – don’t worry – 25th February is National Clam Chowder Day.
It has two national days – it’s that important 😉
The most important ingredient are the clams – I ordered 1 kg of fresh clams from The Cornish Fishmonger and was extremely happy with the service – they deliver fresh sea food on weekends as well! If you prefer, you could also find canned clams in your local supermarket but they will not be as fresh.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of fresh clams (or a mixture of clams and cockles)
- 50 g of butter 🧈
- 200ml of crème fraîche
- 1 cup of milk (150 ml) 🥛
- 2 big potatoes 🥔
- 3 carrots 🥕
- 1 onion 🧅
- 200 g of pancetta (or bacon) 🥓
- 1 table spoon of all purpose white flour
- scented thyme 🌿
- fresh parsley 🌿
- salt 🧂
- pepper
- about 1litre of chicken (or vegetable) broth ( you can also use the broth from the clams if you wish)
Method: 👩🍳
- Wash the clams under cold water, drain, then repeat again
- Place the clams in a stockpot and bring to boil for 5-6 minutes, so they open
- ‼️ Discard any clams that do not open ‼️
- Set the clams aside to cool down before removing them from the shells 🐚
- Add the butter in a pre-heated pan (high temperature) and sizzle the pancetta until it becomes brown, then set aside on a kitchen towel
- In the same pan (use the juices from the butter and pancetta) add the finely chopped onion 🧅 and carrots 🥕 . Cook gently until golden. Once they soften, add fresh thyme.
- By now the clams should be cool enough so you can remove them from the shells. Make sure you discard any clams that did not open
- Remove the thyme and add the flour. Mix well.
- Pour 1 litre of chicken (or vegetable) stock or you could use the stock from the clams. I prefer to add fresh stock.
- Add the clams and any juice left
- Peel and chop the potatoes 🥔 into mouth-size bites and add to the stockpot
- Add the milk and crème fraîche
- Season with salt and pepper to taste
- Stir well and bring to boil. Once boiling, lower the temperature and let it simmer for about 20-25 minutes (until the potatoes are soft)
- Add part of the pancetta in the chowder and you are ready to plate
- To decorate, I like to put some of the crispy pancetta on top and garnish with fresh parsley
Dine with Delight 😋 🍲
I have added some Brazilian cheese bread on the side – what could be better than a cosy creamy clam chowder with a side of cheese bread 🧀 🥖 . You can find my recipe for pão de queijo here.
Enjoy! 😋
