Chef Eileen: Woah, the chowder's like overflowing lava. Because they only sell good chowder at fisherman's wharfs and the alternative would be cans, I always thought it must be difficult to make. They've got us all fooled! It's so easy to make. This one I made is heartier because it has more chunks of bacon bits and celery. Here's the recipe:Recipe:
1. Boil 2 cups of cubed yukon gold potatoes in 16 oz of clam juice until soft. They sell clam juice. Weird isn't it? Yukon golds are nice because they don't become too mushy after boiling and hold their shape.
2. In a separate pan, finely dice and brown 4 slices of smoked bacon. (You can save a 1 inch square of bacon and crisp it to garnish the dish as we did above.) In the lard, saute 1 cup of finely diced onions and 1.25 cups of finely diced celery with 2-3 bay leaves and 2 pinches of thyme. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Cook until vegetables have softened.
3. In a large soup pan heat 1 cup of half and half (or cream if you prefer) with 6-8oz of minced canned clams over low heat. Add in the boiled potatoes and clam juice. Next add the sauteed mixture of vegetables and bacon. I also added a pinch of red chili flakes to make the chowder more flavorful. Lastly, add about 1-2 tablespoons of flour to thicken. Stir over low heat until the chowder becomes really thick.
4. Make bread bowls by cutting a loaf of sour or sweet loaf into 1.5 inch thick slices. Scoop out the insides. You can toast these bread bowl guts to make croutons. Place bread bowl on plate and line the bottom of the bread bowl with some bread crumbs to absorb some of the liquid so it doesn't leak out. Scoop.
Best served on rainy days!
No comments:
Post a Comment