Monday, December 14, 2009

Razor Clam Chowda

First things first.
"WARNING HIGH FAT"
Ok so here goes. This soup will start with a french Mirepoix, but I guess we should prep the ingredients first so more on that later.

Thaw 1 -2 # frozen razor clams from your trip to the coast overnight in the refridgerator. In the event you didn't have a trip like that, you can order yours online for about $20 per lb. Snip corner off bag and drain tasty clam juice into bowl and set aside.

Get a mallet and have a little fun tenderizing your clams. The key here is not to overwork them or you could end up with clam mush and that is just not tasty...

Chop your malleted clams to the size of your personal preference. Then refridgerate.

Chop 2 onions

Chop a bunch of carrots

Chop maybe 4 celery hearts.

Chop 8 washed potatoes.

Rub 1 bunch Thyme between your palms to remove stems and chop.
Revel in the amazing aroma of fresh herbs.

Now for the Mirepoix. Ok a french Mirepoix is the classic 2-1 combo of onions, carrots and celery sauted in butter providing a rich flavor. These are our base aromatics.
So, melt 1/2 stick butter.

Saute onions til transluscent. (maybe 10 min)

Add Carrots and Celery and continue to saute. (10 min) add potatoes, 1/2 the thyme, salt pepper and cook briefly.

Find 36oz all natural Clam juice sitting around the house somewhere and add to the pot along with the clam juice you retained back at step one.

Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes or until veg and potatoes are tender. Dont forget to taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary because potatoes can deaden most anything.

Get 1/2 cup gluten free all purpose flour ready.

Make Roux by melting 1 stick butter and adding flour cooking on low heat about 3 min or so just to remove the raw flour flavor. Remember we don't want our Chowder too dark. When ready take 1 cup of simmering stock and add to Roux mixing together and quickly adding back to the stockpot as this is our thickening agent. Add remaining Thyme and simmer til soup is thickened.

Find a nice pint of organic half and half

Stir it into the soup along with the chopped clams. Heat gently to cook the clams. remember over cooked clams are rubber bands...

Serve topped with a little Bacon, a drizzle of Malt Vinegar, Pilot Bread if you can find it and the beverage of your choice. Enjoy!



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