This simple, tasty recipe comes from generations of New England relatives. The more contemporary ingredients have the approval of all four of my "home-chef" brothers. Notice that precise amounts are not given. YOU get to be the architect of your very own chowder.
Old school chowder started with sauteing salt pork and onion then adding your fish or seafood stock before adding the vegetables. Instead of salt pork today we use a little bacon to start out the flavor base and drain most of the fat after it's rendered. You may saute the onion now, or add it to the stock later.
If you are fortunate enough to have fresh, live clams, place them in a cooler with water and corn meal long enough (4-6 hours) to clean the sand out of the clams. Second choice is fresh clams. Third choice is canned clams. If using canned, go for the high quality. Cook the clams separately in very little water and then cut them up.
Save the fluid from cooking the clams for the soup pot, being careful to pour off just the stock and not the sand. Better than Bouillion sells a clam stock if you want to up the clam flavor.
Prepare peeled, small-cubed Yukon Gold potatoes, minced onion and celery chopped small.
Cook everything in the seafood stock with enough fluid to cover your solids until it's nearly done and then separate the stock to thicken it in another pot with a roux. You can do a traditional roux with flour although potato flour (typically available in health food stores) as a thickener works fairly well and does not leave a flour taste.
To get the chowder white add Half and Half until it gets to the desired color and thickness.
Season to taste with fresh ground pepper and top with some fresh herbs (chopped dill or fennel fronds go particularly well with chowders).
Serve with a nice toasted crusty piece of baguette bread and you have a hearty meal.
Variations:
1. A Mendocino twist on New England chowder includes chopped carrots in the dish which adds nice color. Add the carrots at the same time as the other vegetables.
2. A twist on traditional chowder is adding chopped, roasted red peppers to the chowder as you are about to eat. The colors look festive. If you put the roasted red peppers in the soup while simmering it turns pink.
3. Another interesting variation is to simmer saffron in the seafood stock before you add it to your pot with the vegetables. This ends up tinting your chowder a light yellow color which is very appealing.
4. If you're making fish chowder with a whitefish like Cod, Pollock or Haddock simply put that in after the stock has been thickened, 10 to 15 minutes before it's time to eat. Be sure to get your fish from a reliable source, no skimping on quality.
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