Serves 6
Chowders served in what the French call ‘en croustade’ are a bit of a speciality in California, though this white chowder would have originated in New England..
Ingredients
6 sourdough rolls or crusty rolls (roughly12cm diameter), tops removed, dough scooped out and discarded
1kg/fresh clams, scrubbed
225g waxy potatoes, peeled and diced into 1.5cmcubes
40gunsalted butter
75g smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped
1 small onion or banana shallot, finely chopped
1 leek, cleaned, halved lengthways and finely chopped
2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
30g plain flour
500ml whole milk
200ml double cream
1 bay leaf
200g (or other white fish), skin removed, cut into 2cm/¾in pieces
1 tsp salt
10 turns black peppermill
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
small handful flat-leaf parsley or chives, roughly chopped, to serve
Method
Bring 250ml/9fl oz water to the boil in a large, shallow pan. Add the clams, place a lid on and allow steam for 3 –4 minutes until they open. Set a colander over a large bowl and drain the clams, reserving the cooking liquor. When the clams are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the shells and set aside.
Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the potatoes for 5–10 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat and fry the bacon, onion or shallot, leek and celery until soft. Stir in the plain flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the clam cooking liquor and stir until thickened. Add the milk, cream, bay leaf, potatoes and cod. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes until the cod is cooked. Add the clam meat and season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Spoon the chowder into the hollowed-out bread rolls and garnish with chopped parsley or chives
Original recipe Rick Stein Rick Steins Road to Mexico
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