New England Clam Chowder

Sometime in the middle of last week, I started feeling pretty yucky.  What better way to ease the pain of a winter cold than a hot bowl of soup?  New England (never Manhattan) Clam Chowder has always been one of my favorites.  In a fancy-pants mood, I decided to put the soup in bread bowls, using the insides for bacon-fat croutons.  

It was a fairly simple process, taking just over an hour from start to finish.


Ingredients and method:


4 strips bacon
2 tbsp butter
2 celery stalks, diced
1 medium onion, diced
3 tbsp flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. chicken stock
8 oz. clam juice
1 c. heavy cream
2 - 10oz. cans of baby clams in water, strained and rinsed
2 bay leaves
1 lb potatoes, chopped into 1/2" pieces
salt and pepper
round loaves (I used sourdough)


makes about four servings


Fry the bacon until crispy in a heavy skillet, place on paper towels to drain and set aside.  Reserve bacon fat.  Once cool enough to handle, dice bacon.


In large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add celery and onion, and cook until onions are clear.  Add the garlic and cook just until golden.  Mix in flour.  Cook for a minute or two to get rid of raw flavor.


Add chicken stock slowly, mixing well with flour mixture.  Add the bacon, clam juice, clams, cream, bay leaves, and potatoes, mixing well.  Bring to a simmer.


Once simmering, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.  


While the chowder is cooking, slice the tops off of the sourdough rounds and take out the inside of the loaf, leaving about two inches at bottom and sides.  Tear the inside bread into bite-size pieces and mix with reserved bacon fat, salt, and pepper.  Broil for just a few minutes until golden.


Salt and pepper chowder to taste, then ladle into sourdough bowls.  Sprinkle with croutons.  Mangia!