Chowder is an all-year, all-weather soup. When the weather is wet and chilly, there’s nothing more comforting than hunkering over a steaming bowl of chowder, with seafood and chunky potatoes jockeying for space in a rich and creamy stew.
When the weather shifts to sunshine and warmth, a bowl of chowder evokes the sea and beach and memories of slurping piping-hot cups of clam chowder, filled to the rim with a milky broth speckled with tender littlenecks bobbing between oyster crackers and slicks of swirling, melted butter.
My roots are on the East Coast, so a New England-style clam chowder holds a special place in my food lexicon. Which is to say that wherever I’ve lived since then (and quite far from New England), when the craving strikes, I will rally and make a chowder. This at times requires a good amount of improvisation, depending on geography and available ingredients.
Over time, I’ve devised this simple recipe, to which I return when I need an easy fix. You might call it a hack—an inauthentic yet convenient recipe—that delivers the briny salt and smoke of a chowder while leaning toward the lighter side for guilt-free slurping. For purists, this is not a traditional chowder, but flavor-wise, it hits the spot.
The base of my chowder always consists of onions and potatoes with a little all-purpose flour for thickening. To that, I might add leeks and root vegetables, such as celery root or turnips, depending on the status of my vegetable bin. Salt pork (or bacon) is a common ingredient in a chowder, lending the necessary salty, smoky depth of flavor to the broth. I often skip the pork component and substitute chunks of warm-smoked salmon (not cold-smoked) for that extra flavor.
Of course, warm-smoked salmon is not a refrigerator staple, and as a simpler alternative, I'll add a generous spoonful of smoked paprika and up the salt. Finally, I add chicken stock to the base of the stew/chowder for more depth of flavor, then finish with a cup of milk or half-and-half for a lightly creamy broth.
Clam Chowder
Active Time: 35 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 to 2 leeks, white and pale green parts chopped
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken stock (and/or water)
- 10 to 12 ounces Yukon gold potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks
- 1 large turnip, diced
- 2 thyme sprigs
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 16 littleneck clams
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups whole milk (or half-and-half)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
Pour in 2 cups chicken stock and whisk to blend. Add the potatoes, turnip, thyme, and smoked paprika. Add additional chicken stock (or water) to completely cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, partially cover the pot, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the clams to the pot. Cover the pot and cook until the clams open, 5 to 7 minutes. (Discard any unopened clams.) Stir in the milk, salt, black pepper, and hot sauce and continue to cook until just heated through. Taste for seasoning. Serve immediately.