Anthonys Restaurant Clam Chowder Recipes

NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• Rinse and soak clams in cold water to remove any grit, 5 minutes. Heat a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a lid over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Peel and chop 2 shallots and 1 garlic clove and add to the pot, along with a few parsley stems. Cook about 2 minutes to "sweat" the vegetables. Drain clams and add to pot, along with white wine. Cover and cook over high heat until clams are opened, about 5 minutes.
• Add potatoes to a medium saucepan and cover with water; add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook the potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, check the clams: put the opened ones in a bowl, then "agitate" the pot by moving it back and forth over the heat to coax the remaining ones to open. Once the clams are open and out of the pot, continue cooking to reduce the liquid to about 1 cup. (Watch for sand that may have accumulated at the bottom of the pot.) Discard any clams that haven't opened.
• Dice the leek and toss in a bowl of water to remove any sand. Dice celery and fennel (reserving the fronds). Peel and mince 1 garlic clove, 1 shallot, and the onion. Remove cooked potatoes to a bowl to cool.
• Preheat soup pot over medium heat. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the pot. While the pot is heating, remove the leeks from the water to a clean bowl. Then add onions, fennel, celery, and a pinch of salt to the pot followed by the leeks, a sprig of parsley and some fennel fronds. Gently stir and cook until vegetables are soft, 5 minutes. Add the shellfish cooking liquid. Add the jalapeño slice and a lemon peel to the soup. Bring to a simmer and cook, 10 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the clams from their shells and roughly chop. Cut the potatoes to roughly the same size as the clams; cut the shrimp in half or thirds, depending on size. Add dashi to the soup, followed by the cream. Taste to adjust the seasonings, and add salt and pepper if necessary. Add a pinch of Aleppo pepper and the shrimp; bring the soup back to a simmer. Add the potatoes and clams, then cover until heated through.
• Finish soup with a squeeze of lemon and chopped parsley. Ladle into bowls and serve.
• Place kombu in 1 quart cold water to soak, 30 minutes. Then discard soaking water, place kombu in a small saucepan, and cover with 1 quart fresh cold water. Over medium-low heat, bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let kombu steep, 30 minutes. Turn heat back on and bring to almost a simmer. Add bonito flakes, but don't stir. Let sit for 10 minutes, then strain, reserving the broth (dashi).

CONTEST-WINNING NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain; set aside. Saute celery and onion in the drippings until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the potatoes, water, clam juice, bouillon, pepper and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes., In a small bowl, combine flour and 1 cup half-and-half until smooth. Gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, 1-2 minutes., Stir in clams and remaining half-and-half; heat through (do not boil). Crumble the cooked bacon; sprinkle over each serving.

THE BEST CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• Put the clams in a large, heavy Dutch oven, add about 4 cups water, then set over medium-high heat. Cover, and cook until clams have opened, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. (Clams that fail to open after 15 to 20 minutes should be discarded.) Strain clam broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or doubled-up paper towels, and set aside. Remove clams from shells, and set aside as well.
• Rinse out the pot, and return it to the stove. Add butter, and turn heat to medium-low. Add bacon or salt pork, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the pork has started to brown, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove pork from fat, and set aside.
• Add the leeks to the fat, and cook, stirring frequently, until they are soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in potatoes and wine, and continue cooking until wine has evaporated and the potatoes have just started to soften, approximately 5 minutes. Add enough clam broth to just cover the potatoes, approximately 3 cups, reserving the rest for another use. Add the thyme and the bay leaf.
• Partly cover the pot, and simmer gently until potatoes are tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop the clams into bits about the size of the bacon dice.
• When potatoes are tender, add cream and stir in chopped clams and reserved bacon. Add black pepper to taste. Let come to a simmer, and remove from heat. (Do not let chowder come to a full boil.) Fish out the thyme and the bay leaf, and discard.
• The chowder should be allowed to sit for a while to cure. Reheat it to a bare simmer before serving, then garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with oyster crackers.

MY BEST CLAM CHOWDER

Steps:

• Drain juice from clams into a large skillet over the onions, celery, potatoes and carrots. Add water to cover, and cook over medium heat until tender.
• Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and stir constantly until thick and smooth. Stir in vegetables and clam juice. Heat through, but do not boil.
• Stir in clams just before serving. If they cook too much they get tough. When clams are heated through, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.