Boston Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- Clams 400g
- Potatoes
- Celery
- Bacon
- Half and half cream
- Chicken bouillon
- Salt
- Pepper
- White wine
- Flour
Instructions
- Start by draining the water out of the canned clams into your stock pot. Add about 1½ L of water and a couple of sachets of chicken bouillon (1½ tsp). Add 1/4 cup of white wine. Turn on to a slow boil. Lightly salt the stock with table salt.
- Peel and cube 2 or 3 large potatoes. Add them to your stock. Top up with enough water to be sure that the potatoes are fully immersed if need be. At the same time, par-cook 3-4 pieces of bacon. You don’t want to fully cook the bacon, only about 3⁄4 as it will finish cooking in the soup and you don’t want it to get crispy. When they are ready, cut into about 1 inch pieces and add them to the stock.
- Finely slice 1 or 2 sticks of celery and add to the stock. Add your clams when the potatoes are still firm but almost cooked. Stir everything well.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add about 1 litre of 1/2 and 1/2 cream. Your chowder should be looking very white at this point. I don’t like to let it boil at all after adding the cream. Let the soup simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
- As your chowder is settling down and thickening from the cream, whisk about three tablespoons of flour into about 2 cups of water. Slowly add this, a bit at a time, to your chowder until you get the desired silky smooth consistency. If you’re not going to be freezing any down, you could use cornstarch instead of flour. However flour-based soups thaw better than cornstarch in soups.
- Salt and pepper to taste. I like freshly ground sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
A true tasty classic that’s so easy to make at home
I love clam chowder! I made it for years as the ‘Soup of the Day’ with fish and chips as the special every Friday. I know that has biblical connotations that might not be as relevant in today’s age of things, but it’s still a great excuse to ladle out some awesome chowder.
I remember when the Simpson’s did their Boy Who Knew Too Much episode in 1994, where Freddy ridicules the French waiter for not pronouncing it with a Bahstun accent! Chowdah! Chowdah! It was hilarious. I just watched the YouTube clip of it again and I’m laughing just as hard.
I also remember the first time that I ordered, years ago, a bowl of ‘Clam Chowder’ and they brought me Manhattan Clam Chowder. I was like, ‘What the heck is this?’ Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind a good bowl of Manhattan, but nothing can beat the creamy, smooth goodness of a great Boston Clam Chowder.
This is so easy to make. I have to admit that with the price of some of the ingredients, it’s a little pricey to get the pot full — the cream and clams were the priciest — but when it comes down to it, you’re looking at less than $2 a bowl.
The best thing is that you can freeze down the leftovers! Just put regular bowl-sized portions into ziplock freezer bags — leave some space for expansion — and toss them in the freezer for a tasty treat whenever you feel the craving for a bowl of chowder.
Uhmm, I meant Chowdah! Hahaha.
I may not be the world’s biggest Boston Bruins fan, but I’m right up there for the world’s biggest Boston Clam Chowder fan! Here’s how I do mine.
