New England clam chowder

Ingredients

• Clams — in the shell1.5 kg
• Smoked bacon — diced120 g
• Waxy potatoes — in 1.5 cm dice500 g
• Onion1
• Celery2
• Single cream300 ml
• Milk300 ml
• Plain flour2 tbsp
• Thyme3 sprig
• Bay leaf1
• Butter40 g
• Oyster crackersto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Scrub the clams and steam them in a cup of water, covered, for five minutes, until they open. Discard any that stay shut. Strain the liquor through muslin: sand settles in it.

   12 min

2. 2

   Take the meat from the shells and chop it coarsely. Set it aside; it returns at the very end.

   8 min

3. 3

   Render the bacon in the pot, add the butter, onion and celery, and sweat them for eight minutes until soft.

   10 min

4. 4

   Stir in the flour, cook it two minutes, pour in the strained clam liquor and the milk, and add the potato, thyme and bay.

   5 min

5. 5

   Simmer for fifteen minutes until the potato is soft. Crush a few pieces against the side: the soup thickens without more flour.

   15 min

6. 6

   Pour in the cream, return the clams and warm through for two minutes without boiling. Check the salt and serve with crackers.

   4 min

About the dish

The difference between New England and Manhattan chowder is cream against tomato, and in New England that is a matter of principle rather than cooking. In 1939 a bill was actually introduced in Maine to outlaw tomatoes in chowder.

The clam liquor is the base of the broth and is never thrown away. It is salty on its own, so salt goes in only at the end and after tasting.

The clams go in at the last moment. Boiled more than two minutes they turn rubbery and never soften again, however long they cook.

Worth knowing

• — Straining the clam liquor is not optional: sand settles in it and must not reach the pot.
• — The potato must be waxy. A floury one disintegrates and turns the soup into purée.
• — Chowder improves overnight, but in that case the clams go in while reheating rather than being cooked twice.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

520 kcal

Protein

28 g

Fat

30 g

Carbs

34 g

More from United States

• Buffalo wings — Unbreaded wings in a sauce of hot pepper sauce and butter. Salt draws the moisture out before baking.