This is my take on New England Clam Chowder, which I love and always wanted to learn to cook it, and somehow always hesitated.
It appeared not as hard as I thought it would. And it doesn’t take too much time to cook this fragrant and warm soup for a cold winter day. Listed amount of ingredients will produce 3-4 portions.
As many seafoods, it is important to not overcook clams, or they will harden and will become chewy. If you like bigger pieces of clam use chopped clams, minced clams are smaller.
Don’t skip on bacon, it gives the chowder that distinctive smoky taste.
Ingredients:
2 6.5 oz cans of chopped or minced clams
1 strip of thick sliced double smoked bacon
3 potatoes
1 medium onion
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery
1.5 cups stock
1 cup of heavy cream
3 tablespoons of flour
1 bay leave
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper
How to prepare, step-by-step:
Prepare ingredients:
Clam Chowder: Step 1
Warm up deep non-stick pan over medium-high heat, dice bacon and fry it in the pan until colored, don’t forget to stir:
Clam Chowder: Step 2
Peel and dice onion, add them to the pan and fry onions until transparent, stir from time to time:
Clam Chowder: Step 3
Peel and shred the carrot, when onions are cooked, add carrots in:
Clam Chowder: Step 4
And then dice celery stalk (keep fresh leaves if any, for decoration) and it to the pan as well, mix everything and continue cooking over moderate heat for 3 mins or so, continue stirring:
Clam Chowder: Step 5
Then pour flour in:
Clam Chowder: Step 6a
And mix it in carefully:
Clam Chowder: Step 6b
Pour broth in:
Clam Chowder: Step 7
Then open both clam cans and drain clam broth into the pot (keep clams in the can still):
Clam Chowder: Step 8
Pour cream in:
Clam Chowder: Step 9
Add bay leave:
Clam Chowder: Step 10
Peel potatoes, then dice them into smaller cubes for soup; bring chowder to simmer and add potatoes in:
Clam Chowder: Step 11
Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste:
Clam Chowder: Step 12
Cook over light simmer until potatoes become soft when pierced with a knife. Then add clams to the pot, heat them through lightly (about 1 minute to prevent them from hardening):
Clam Chowder: Step 13
Then turn heat off, add chopped celery leaves (or other greens):
Clam Chowder: Step 14
The New England Clam Chowder is ready:
Clam Chowder: Step 15
I am from Maine and we do not make it that way! We use bacon or salt pork diced potatoes shredded carrot and some celery chopped fine Clams milk and heavy cream
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I am from Maine and we do not make it that way! We use bacon or salt pork diced potatoes shredded carrot and some celery chopped fine Clams milk and heavy cream