Clam Chowder

My friend Kathy is from coastal New England.

One summer, she was headed to Cape Cod for vacation and I was very jealous because of the delicious food I knew she’d be eating.  “It’s different than you think, Christine”, she kept saying…a phrase she still uses with me to this day.  NO, I told her, I LOVE clam chowder and fried clams.  Then she advised:  "it’s not the Chunky clam chowder you love from the can, and it’s not the clam strips you’ve been eating in diners all your life. It's real".  I wouldn’t believe her.

As fate would have it, I got to see for myself just a few years later, when I was on Martha's Vineyard..

I went to a little place upstairs from a bigger place and had some fried clams.  They smelled DELICIOUS and they were so fresh and hot that I could barely touch them.  Couldn’t wait…I threw one in my mouth and what the hell…it was like eating a gigantic booger!  Didn’t wanna swallow it but had to, couldn’t drink enough Corona to get rid of it.  I checked the menu again “whole belly fried clams”.  It says fried clams, so what was THIS??  She laughed for 5 minutes.  Kathy, where can I get the fried clams THAT I LIKE and she said “rubber bands with breading?? Publix, aisle 6, frozen food section, Mrs. Pauls”. 

About the fried clams she was right, but I still love clam chowder any way I can get it, and I think you’ll like this recipe, too.  It’s not too thick, has fresh thyme, and big chunks of potato.  The clams are chopped though…the clams are definitely chopped…  :)

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WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

* make this the night before you want to serve it.  It always tastes better the next day.

1 can chopped clams, drained

4 tablespoons butter

5 pieces thick-cut bacon, chopped

1 leek (slice through the white part a few times to clean inside it, then slice all the white part and approx 1/2 inch into the green part).  Discard the remainder of the green part as it can be fibrous and tough

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

1 bay leaf, broken in half

oyster crackers

1 1/2 cups cream

1/2 cup whole milk

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup clam juice

1/2 cup white wine

2 springs of fresh thyme

salt/pepper

1 large handful chopped fresh parsley

optional:  oyster crackers or saltines

In a large Dutch Oven, saute bacon until crisp.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease.

Add butter to pan and saute leeks over medium heat until soft.  Add potatoes and wine and cook for a few minutes, then add clam juice, chicken broth, thyme, and bay leaf.  Simmer until potatoes are soft, approx 20 min.  

Drain clams

When potatoes are soft, add clams, bacon, cream, and milk.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  The clams can be briny, so be careful.  Let simmer on low briefly to heat all and meld the flavors.  When done, remove and discard thyme and bay leaf (the stalk of thyme should be bare) and take soup off the heat. Set aside and let cool before putting in the refrigerator, covered.

The next day:

Reheat soup on low until hot (do not let it boil).  Garnish with parsley and serve with crackers.