Seafood Chowder
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 36medium-size quahog clams, usually rated “top neck” or “cherrystone,” scrubbed under cold water to remove sand and grit
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼pound thick-cut bacon, diced
- 2tablespoons dulse flakes
- 2leeks, tops removed, halved and cleaned, then sliced into half-moons
- 2carrots, peeled and halved, then sliced into half-moons
- 2parsnips, peeled and halved, then sliced into half-moons
- 2medium-size all-purpose potatoes, like Yukon Gold, cubed
- 1cup dry white wine
- 3sprigs thyme
- 2bay leaves
- 2cups heavy cream
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1pound firm white fish fillets, like cod, tautog or sea bass, cut into fingers
- ½pound sea scallops, sliced into coins if very large
- ¼cup chopped parsley
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
490 calories; 31 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 22 grams protein; 662 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Put the clams in a large, heavy Dutch oven, add about 4 cups water, then set over medium-high heat. Cover, and cook until clams have opened, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. (Clams that fail to open should be discarded.) Strain clam broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or doubled-up paper towels, and set aside. You should have 5 or 6 cups. Remove clams from shells, and set aside as well.
- Step 2
Rinse out the pot, and return it to the stove. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter, and turn heat to medium-low. Add bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the pork has started to brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove pork from fat, and set aside.
- Step 3
Add the dulse and the leeks to the fat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the leeks are soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, then stir in the carrots, parsnips, potatoes and wine, and continue cooking until wine has evaporated and the vegetables have just started to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add enough clam broth to just cover them, approximately 4 to 5 cups, reserving the rest for another use. Add the thyme and the bay leaves.
- Step 4
Partly cover the pot, and simmer gently until vegetables are tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
- Step 5
Meanwhile, chop the clams into bits about the size of the bacon dice. When the vegetables are tender, add the cream, and stir in the chopped clams and reserved bacon. Add black pepper to taste. Let come to a simmer. (Do not let chowder come to a full boil.) Remove the thyme and the bay leaves, and discard.
- Step 6
If serving right away, slip the fish fingers into the chowder, place the scallops on the surface and allow them all to cook into translucence in the heat, approximately 5-7 minutes. But chowder improves mightily if it sits overnight to cure. If you have the time, don’t add the fish and scallops right away, but allow the chowder to chill in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat it to a bare simmer before adding and cooking them through. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve, garnished with the chopped parsley.
Private Notes
Comments
I'm a marine biologist and this is an old wive's tale. Clams (and mussels, and oysters) spend their lives with their shells open, breathing and feeding. They have a springy elastic hinge that keeps the valves open. They have to force the shells closed with their muscles. If a clam is dead, the shells will spring open. Sometimes in cooking, the hinge and muscles get damaged, so a cooked clam stays shut. If that's the case, just open it and check its cooked by smell and texture.
And what about the dulse butter that got me to this recipe? and where on this side of the Atlantic and you get pulse?
Before I comment on the recipe I have to ask...is this a health care site or a cooking site? Be safe - tossing 1 or 2 unopened clams won't break the bank. Anyway, if you don't eat bacon, pork or meats but want the umami that the smokieness of the bacon imparts, add a smoked trout, or good deli smoked white fish to your pot when you add your cream. I find this makes for a smoother smokey back-flavor than bacon actually does...but I like them both.
My family loves a seafood chowder. We made this almost exactly as stated and everyone said it's the best chowder they ever had. Fully agree.
Step one: Cook clams in 4 cups water. Strain the broth. "You should have 5 or 6 cups." What?
Needed more liquid. I'm not sure I liked it as well as Sifton's easy fish chowder. But this is good.
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