Clam Chowder. New England's Most Famous Clam Chowder

This Clam Chowder or clam chowder is the most famous soup in the northern United States. From the west coast in New England to San Francisco on the east coast, it is the soup with the most versions in the entire United States.

There are versions that are served on a plate, others in a small round loaf of bread and some with fried bread. I bring you Liu's own version that I serve with puff pastry.

Regarding the ingredients, you will find many versions made with canned clams, taking advantage of the juice. Canned clams are as common there as cockles here, although not as expensive.

We tried this soup at a delicious restaurant in Boston. There they prepare it with fresh clams and fried bread and it was delicious, and praising that version I bring you mine today. I hope you like it as much as we do.

Ingredients

for the clams

1 kg of clams
1/2 glass of white wine
1/2 glass of water

For the soup

2 thick slices of bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 leek
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce or hot sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon De la Vera paprika
2 tablespoons flour
250 ml of chicken or meat broth (yes, I know, the logical thing would be fish broth but it is much better that way)
600ml liquid cream
250 ml of the clam cooking broth
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
200 ml of water

Directions

En una cacerola ponemos la almejas, el agua, la hoja de laurel y el vino blanco tapamos y dejamos que las almejas se abran. Cuando estén listas, colamos el caldo y lo reservamos.

Separamos al almejas de la concha y picamos la carne de las almejas. Reservamos.

Picamos las verduras y el bacon en cuadraditos y reservamos.

En una cacerola, freímos el bacon. No añadimos aceite. Tiene que dorarse hasta perder casi toda la grasa y se quede crujiente. Escurrimos el aceite sobrante en la cacerola y reservamos el bacon.

In the same saucepan with the bacon oil, add the butter and brown the garlic with the onion. When it is soft, add the leek, parsley, salt, oregano, thyme and paprika. We stir a few times and add the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce.

We stir well and let it cook for a few minutes. We make a hole in the center of the saucepan, and add the flour. We stir well and add the meat broth, the clam broth and the cream along with the potatoes. Cover and let cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

After this time the soup will have thickened and will have all the flavor. We then add the chopped clams and after a few minutes we can serve it.

Serve with the crispy bacon and a little more chopped parsley.

We could serve it as is, but at home we love puff pastry and I decided to serve it with puff pastry. We serve the soup in a bowl suitable for the oven. We cover the bowl full of soup with puff pastry and make some cuts in the center so it can breathe. Bake at 180ºC for about 15 minutes until the puff pastry is golden.

Tips and Tricks