Eileen’s Greatest New Jersey Clam Chowder. 2/20/17. Blogfinger photo.
By Eileen Goldfinger, Food Editor @Blogfinger.net
2 dozen fresh little neck clams
3 6.5 ounce cans chopped clams, drained. Save the liquid.
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1/2 large sweet onion, diced
1 medium potato, peeled & diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
2 ears fresh corn; remove kernels from cob (or 2/3 cup frozen corn) optional
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
7 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons tomato paste
5 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
1 cup clam juice
4 cups chicken broth
1 28 ounce can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, drain liquid (crush tomatoes with hands)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (more if you like very spicy)
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bottle beer
Don’t panic at all the ingredients. Most are already in your pantry and most are added to one pot.
Clam preparation:
While preparing the soup base, place fresh clams in a large bowl of cool water with 2 tablespoons of corn meal mixed in. This will clean the shells and cause the clams to disgorge any sand they may have ingested. Discard any clams that are cracked or open.
Soup preparation:
In a 5 quart Dutch oven, heat butter and extra virgin olive oil on medium heat. Then add onion, carrots, celery, pepper, potato, and cook for 10 minutes. Next add clam juice, tomato paste and garlic; stir and cook for another 10 minutes. Add chicken broth, corn, parsley, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and San Marzano tomatoes. Stir and cook at a simmer for 15 minutes . Make sure the potatoes are fork tender.
While the soup cooks, prepare the fresh clams. In a 12” fry pan add the contents of a bottle of beer and bring beer to a boil. Lift clams straight up and out of the water that they have been sitting in. This leaves any sand they have expelled on the bottom of the bowl. Place them in the boiling beer, cover the pan, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover, and as the clams open, remove them with tongs and set them aside on a plate. If they cook too long they will become tough, Discard any clams that do not open.
While these clams are cooking, add the 3 cans of chopped clams to the soup and stir. Use the saved broth to add to the soup if it becomes too thick.
Assembling:
When all the fresh clams have opened, ladle soup into bowls and place equal amounts of fresh clams with shells on top. (or remove clams from their shells and add the clams to the soup.)
Serve with a rustic bread.
This recipe will serve 4 people as an entré or 8 as an appetizer.
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