Clarissas Clam Chowder Recipes

CLASSIC CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a large soup kettle, fry bacon over medium heat until bacon crisps, about 5 minutes. Remove bacon; set aside.
• Keep 2 tablespoons bacon fat in pan. (If necessary, add oil to yield 2 tablespoons.) Add onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add thyme and bay leaves; cook until fragrant, 30 seconds or so.
• Whisk in mashed potatoes, clam juice (bottled and what you've drained from the clams) and 1 cup of water. Add new potatoes and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat; continue to simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in clams, cream and parsley; season with salt and pepper.
• Heat through and serve, garnishing each bowl with reserved bacon.

CLARISSA'S CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• Shuck the clams or steam them open using a little white wine. Keep all the liquor from the shells.
• In a heavy frying pan slowly fry the bacon and onions until golden; transfer to a saucepan. Add the boiling water, potatoes and pepper and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add the clams, with their liquor, and the milk. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 1 hour.
• Just before serving, reheat the chowder. Ladle into bowls over crumbled crackers. You can get rid of a lot of anger by putting your packets of crackers in a plastic bag and throwing them on the floor repeatedly, until they reach the required state of crumb. Or stamp on them, says my friend Claire Macdonald.