Creamy clam chowder made with meretrix frozen clams, chunky potato and smokey bacon. Served with fresh parsley and pieces of soft sourdough bread for dipping. This delicious clam chowder soup recipe is my favourite way to enjoy clams and has been directly inspired by the clam chowder on Fisherman's Wharf.
Course Appetizer, fish, main meal, Soup, starter, starter or main
If using pre cooked frozen meretrix clams from The Fish Society, remove these from the freezer at least 6 hours before preparing the dish and leave on the side to fully defrost. If using canned clams or fresh clams no preparation is required.
Pan fry 50g chopped smoked bacon until golden. Remove half of the bacon and set to one side for a topping later on.
With the remaining bacon still in the pan add 50g butter and melt. Then add 1 chopped onion and 1 clove of minced garlic. Pan fry on medium until soft then add 300g of cubed potatoes and continue to stir fry for another 5 minutes.
Next add 2 tablespoon of plain flour to the onion and potato mix, which will help to thicken the chowder along with the starch from the potatoes. Stir in and then add the wine. Use the wine to deglaze the pan (scrape bits off the bottom). When the wine has reduced by half start to gradually add the milk, whilst continually stirring.
Once all the milk has gone into the pan, add the bay leaves and sprigs of thyme. Check consistency and add 100-200ml of water if the soup appears too thick.
Bring the chowder to the boil then place on the lid and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.
If using fresh raw clams now is the time to get these into boiling water and cook until the shells open. Discard any unopened shells. Remove cooked clams from their shells and save a few shells for decoration later.
If using canned clams or the pre cooked, frozen meretrix clams then theres no need to cook these. Just remove the shells from the defrosted meretrix clams and save a few shells to use as decoration later.
Once the potatoes are soft add the cooked clams to the chowder. Check consistency again and add water if required. Bring the chowder back to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes to ensure the clams are fully heated through.
Take the chowder off the heat and allow to cool for a couple of minute before stirring in the cream.
IMPORTANT TIP:
don't add the cream whilst the chowder is still on the heat as this will cause the cream to curdle.
Serve:
Add any saved shells for decoration and then top with bacon and freshly chopped parsley. Serve with sourdough bread.
Recipe tip:
If you are using frozen, cooked clams and you don't have time to defrost them you can add the frozen clams in their shells directly to the chowder. This of course means that all clams will be in shells when you serve the dish. - And although this looks pretty it makes eating this recipe a little more time consuming. You will also need a bigger pan and the clams should be simmered for longer to ensure they are fully reheated.