A (Non-Traditional) New England Clam Chowder

I am back.  It has been several months since I have posted anything on this blog.  I have been cooking, although not as much as I would like or with the experimentation that fuels this blog.  The problem is that I have not been writing blog posts, because things have been very busy around here.

Still, the recipes mull around in the back of my mind.  One such recipe is this New England Clam Chowder.  I made this chowder for the Savage Boleks Super Bowl Party, as the dish representing New England.   

Indeed, clam chowder is a quintessential dish in New England.  The history of the dish can be traced back to at least the 1700s, but it rose to prominence in the region in the early part of the 19th century.  The chowder gained a wider audience when it was described by Herman Melville in the classic, Moby Dick.  Melville described clam chowder served by Trys Pot, a chowder house in Nantucket, Massachusetts.  Melville wrote in some rather tasty terms:

However, a warm savory steam from the kitchen served to belie the apparently cheerless prospect before us. But when that smoking chowder came in, the mystery was delightfully explained.  Oh, sweet friends! hearken to me.  It was made of small juicy clams, scarcely bigger than hazel nuts, mixed with pounded ship biscuit and salted pork cut up into little flakes; the whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt. 

Fast forward one hundred and sixty six years and you find myself getting ready to make a big pot of New England Clam Chowder for my family and friends.  While I have made clam chowder in the past, this dish represents my best effort to date. And, after much thought, I think there are two reasons for that.

First, I decided to alter the recipe in one major way.  The original recipe, which I got from Bon Appetit called for cherrystone clams, which would be chopped into "bite size pieces."  I bought littleneck clams, which are smaller than cherrystone clams (you get about 7-10 littleneck clams per pound, while you get 6 to 9 cherrystone clams per pound).  Given they were smaller, I decided not to chop the clams.  This left small, whole clams in the chowder.  Something that I think would be reminiscent of, albeit slightly larger than, the "hazel nut" sized clams described by Herman Melville.

Second, I decided to use hickory smoked bacon, rather than just plain old bacon. This choice goes against convention.  Traditional clam chowders are made with salt pork, which is not smoked.  Most restaurants substitute un-smoked bacon.  The rationale behind the use of un-smoked bacon is that one wants to enjoy the brininess of the clams, which could get lost with smoked bacon.  Given I decided to keep the clams whole, rather than chop them into pieces, I decided to take a risk and use smoked bacon.  I think the risk paid off, because it added another layer of flavor to the chowder.

In the end, I think my family and friends enjoyed this chowder.  I certainly liked this chowder a lot.  So much that the thought of writing this blog post persevered even through the most busiest of times.  There are other posts like this one, although they will have to wait for another day.

NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves many

Ingredients:

10 pounds of littleneck clams, scrubbed

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

8 ounces bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 celery stalks, minced

1 large onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

6 cups clam juice (or reserved broth from steaming clams)

2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups heavy cream

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

Flat leaf parsley, chopped

Oyster crackers

Directions:

1.  Steam the clams.  Bring clams and 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.  Cook until clams just open, 8 to 10 minutes (discard any that do not open).  using a large slotted spoon, transfer clams to a large rimmed baking sheet; set broth aside.  Let clams cool slightly, pull meat from shells and discard the shells.  

2.  Make the base.  Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat.  Add bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon begins to brown, about 8 minutes.  Add celery, onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add reserved broth (or 6 cups of clam juice), potatoes, thyme and bay leaf.  Bring chowder base to a simmer.  Cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.  

3.  Add cornstarch slurry.  Stir cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl to form a slurry.  Stir slurry into chowder base.  Return to a boil to thicken.

4.  Finish the dish.  Remove base from heat.  Discard bay leaf.  Stir in reserve clams and cream  Season with salt (if needed, because the brininess of clams varies) and pepper.  Divide chowder among bowls and garnish with the parsley and serve with oyster crackers.

ENJOY!

Cacciucco

One of my favorite Italian dishes is a seafood stew that varies region-by-region.  I have made a couple versions of this stew, inspired by the brodettos of Abruzzo.  The Tuscans have their own version called "Cacciucco" (kah-CHOO-koh).  I thought it was time to learn a little more about the Tuscan stew and try to make it for myself and my beautiful Angel, Clare.

The word "Cacciucco" comes from the Turkish word, Kϋçϋk, which means "small."  This is a reference to the fish used to make the dish, all of which are usually small, boney fish.  These fish are the pesce povero or "poor fish," which were left over from the catch.  The fish were left over because they were too small or too boney to sell in the market. The pesce povero usually included Black Scorpionfish, Atlantic Stargazer, Dogfish and Weeverfish. 

Few of those fish are available around where I live, so the suggested fish for this recipe include sole, mullet, catfish, eel, hake, monkfish, and John Dory.  Many of these fish -- such as sole, hake and monkfish -- are endangered because of overfishing or are unsustainable because the fishing methods used to catch the fish result in an unacceptable amount of bycatch or environmental damage.  I try hard to make sure that I follow the guidelines for sustainable seafood in my cooking.  Therefore, for my Cacciucco, I decided to use Rockfish and Vermillion Snapper, both of which have been designated as sustainable. I also used some squid and some cherrystone clams.  This dish was very good and, like the brodettos, I will definitely make it again.

CACCIUCCO

Adapted from LivornoNow

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds of fish and shellfish

1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 small handful of parsley, chopped
1 can of San Marzano, whole peeled tomatoes 

8 thick slices Italian bread
Extra virgin olive oil
1 bayleaf
Thyme
Sage
Chile pepper
2 teaspoons of vinegar
1 glass dry red wine (e.g. Chianti)
Salt and pepper

2 cups of seafood broth

Directions:

1.  Prepare the seafood.  Wash all the fish. Clean the squid and wash shellfish.  Wash shellfish carefully and place in a large pan to open them.  Conserve the liquid and half of the shell with the clam or mussel.

2.  Prepare the base of the Cacciucco.  In a large frying pan, heat olive oil and lightly fry the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and parsley, all finely chopped. Add the chile, thyme, sage and bayleaf.

3.  Add the squid, followed by the vinegar, red wine and tomatoes.  Add the squid to the base and cook for a few minutes.  Add the vinegar. When the vinegar has evaporated, add the red wine and cook til this has evaporated as well. Add the tomatoes, chopped, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4.  Add the remaining ingredients.  When the  squid is tender, add the fish stock (strained), the remaining fish, and in the last few minutes the shellfish.  Cook until the fish and shellfish are cooked through, with the fish about to flake apart and the shell fish are opaque/

5.  Plate the dish.  Toast the bread and rub with garlic. Place the slices in the bottom of a dish and pour the Cacciucco over the bread. Serve hot.  (there should be plenty of sauce, but the Cacciucco should not be too liquid).

ENJOY!

For more information about Cacciucio, check out LivornoNow.