 "Photo: Kathleen Mehocic")
Also follow this recipe in a photoessay by Photography Editor Kathleen Mehocic on the Miscellany's photojournalism blog, Exposure.
I have a confession to make: I’m a New Englander. I haven’t always found it easy here in New York, surrounded by Yankees and Giants fans and Long Island accents, but I’ve done my best. Provided that no one invades my space sporting a navy blue “18-1” t-shirt, life’s just peachy and I easily keep my Rhode Island cool. However, when I do have a moment of panic, when a taxi almost kills me or I have an abrasive run-in on a Manhattan street corner, when I feel like nothing is going right for me in the Empire State, I find solace in one thing: the sheer superiority of my homeland’s clam chowder to the tomato-based counterpart of New York. You can keep your World Series rings, your Eli Manning, your big island city, your around-the-clock lifestyle. So long as I have my chowder, I have everything I need.
I knew that I wanted to include a seafood recipe this week because I have yet to do so, and though I had originally thought of playing with a nice fillet of salmon or sea bass, given our first snowfall on Saturday I decided to do a heart-warming soup. New England clam chowder has always been a favorite of mine—a seaside comfort food that is really difficult to get right. Until this morning, I had only made chowder once before, so after some serious studying of some two dozen chowder recipes, I decided to create my own, focusing on simplicity and, of course, serious flavor. When my housemate (a fellow New Englander) saw the chowder simmering on the stove this afternoon and tried a spoonful, her eyes lit up and a subtle smirk came across her face. Success.
Going back to my first point about the regional differences in chowder, New England clam chowder is flavored with salt pork and thickened with a bit of flour and cream, while Manhattan clam chowder is a much brothier soup, with tomato. It’s certainly a lighter soup than the New England version, but a taste test makes it abundantly clear the tomato knockoff pales in comparison. New England chowder is also very adaptable and works well with most other types of seafood or the purely vegetarian version (if you leave out the salt pork, that is), corn chowder. You’ll also find a quick recipe below for the crispy shallots that I garnished the chowder with. I strongly recommend trying them—they go great in salads or on potatoes—and you should reserve the leftover shallot oil to use in place of olive oil in salad dressings or for sautéeing.
Chowder is a fantastic stand-alone dish, but I wanted to enhance the whole experience by pairing it with something crusty and something light. I decided on beer bread because it’s a really great quick bread—meaning bread that contains no yeast and is thus “quick” to make—and it’s also unique and delicious. If you’ve ever had Irish Soda Bread, it sort of tastes like that, but I find it to be a bit richer, and I added just a touch of cheese, which keeps the inside very moist. It does require a bottle of beer, so I hereby accept no responsibility for underage consumption—I suppose it’s really an aged-21-or-older recipe.
The salad I selected is simple, with the candied pecans working well against the salty soup. There’s also goat cheese, because, why not? I made my favorite dressing of lemon, whole grain mustard and olive oil, but you should feel completely free to dress it however you fancy.
Knowing that this week’s snowfall is only the beginning of winter, I feel confident saying that there are many chowder days in our future. Be sure to make yourself a big ol’ crock sometime this break to enjoy with your family and friends. And given that this is my last column before we return in January, I wish you the happiest of holidays and the most delicious of eating.
New England Clam Chowder
4 oz. salt pork, diced (or 6 slices of bacon, diced, if you cannot find salt pork)
2 T butter
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large stalk celery, chopped
3 T flour
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
2 10 oz. cans of whole baby clams
3 c. clam juice (you can usually find this jarred or canned near the clams)
3 c. 1/2 and 1/2
Salt and black pepper
Chopped parsley, for garnish
Crispy shallots, for garnish, recipe follows
In a large soup pot, cook the salt pork over medium-high heat until it is crispy. Remove the pork bits from the pot, leaving the rendered fat.
Turn the heat to medium and add the butter. Add the garlic, onions and celery, and sauté until translucent—about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, drain the cans of clams, reserving the juice. Chop the clams finely.
Add the flour to the pot and mix into the vegetables, until the butter absorbs all of the flour (this will function as the thickener for the soup).
Add the canned clams and sauté for one minute more.
Add the reserved clam juice, along with the 3 c. of clam juice.
Add the diced potatoes and bring to a boil.
Add the half-and-half, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
This is the time to taste the chowder and adjust the seasoning; because both the salt pork and clam juice are relatively salty, be wary of adding too much salt, though some additional salt will likely be necessary. I like adding a lot of black pepper to my chowder.
If you aren’t happy with the consistency of the chowder you can either, a) pour some of the chowder into a blender, puree it and add it back to the pot, or b) melt an additional 2 T of butter with 2 T of flour (creating a roux) and add it back to the pot. If you make a roux, be sure to let the chowder return to a boil, so that it will adequately thicken.
Ladle some chowder in a bowl, top with some chopped parsley and crispy shallots, and enjoy.
Salad with Candied Pecans, Goat Cheese and Endive
1 belgian endive, washed and sliced thinly
2 c. baby arugula
1/4 c. crumbled goat cheese
3/4 c. whole pecans
2 t. honey
1 t. canola oil
1/2 t. hot sauce
Salt and pepper
1 T mustard
Juice from one lemon
3 T olive oil
Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, oil, hot sauce and a pinch of salt.
Add the pecans and toss to coat.
Pour the pecans onto a baking sheet and toast for 5-7 minutes, keeping an eye on them
because they will burn quickly
Remove from the oven and let cool.
In a large bowl, combine the endive, arugula, goat cheese and candied pecans.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard and lemon juice. Slowly drizzle the olive oil
into this mixture, while whisking.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss lightly.
Crispy Shallots
3 peeled shallots, very thinly sliced
In a small saucepot, cover the sliced shallots with olive oil.
Place the saucepot on a burner on medium low heat and cook until the shallots turn golden brown and crispy—usually 10-15 minutes. They burn quickly, so keep an eye on them.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the shallots and drain on some paper towels. Salt them lightly.
Once the oil cools, set it aside for future use.
Quick Beer Bread
3 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/4 c. grated white cheddar cheese
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. dried basil
1 12 oz. bottle beer—I prefer an amber or nut brown ale, but you should use your favorite
Combine all of the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Add the beer and stir to combine. The mixture should still be sticky, like a very thick waffle batter.
Pour into a buttered loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes at 375 degrees.
Remove from the pan and let cool on a rack for a few minutes before slicing.
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