There are two things I love about winter, soup and fireplaces, but not in that particular order.
As much as I have fallen head over heals for this clam chowder recipe, nothing can replace the lust in my heart for my fireplace.
Once winter hits, the fire is on every evening. It is a big open fireplace and one of my major loves of our house. In fact during winter it turns me into a creature of the night, as I just don’t want to leave its side to go to bed.
Between that and Netflix, I am surprised that I sleep at all.
I am usually a very lazy soup maker. I make up a big pot of chicken stock (16L), which is then frozen in various quantities. This stock then becomes the base of many after work, easy to prepare soups.
There is nothing difficult about this clam chowder, it is just a little more time consuming than most of the other soups I make.
I should embellish on this. Normally my soup making entails softening some leek or onion in a pot with butter. Throwing in some chopped up potatoes (or other veg) and covering with my premade chicken stock. Once the vegies are cooked I then puree the lot with a stick blender, season, and then, soup’s done!
Actually when I rethink the difficulty level and time factor of this chowder, it isn’t difficult or too time consuming. Practically as easy as my normal soup methods. Just replace the pureeing time with the time it takes to steam the clams.
The taste? The speck adds a wonderful smoky richness to the clam chowder. It marries so well with the fresh “sea” flavours of the clam stock. Even though cream is added to this soup, it isn’t as heavy as some chowders I have eaten. It really is a lovely balance of flavours and textures.
Winter Warmer Recipe: Hearty Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- 1 kg clams in the shell
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 115 grams speck meat and fat finely diced
- 1 ½ brown onions medium, finely diced
- 1 ½ tablespoons plain flour
- 125 ml white wine dry
- 400 grams potato peeled and small diced
- 3 cups clam stock reserved from cooking clams
- 2 tablespoons thyme leaves fresh
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 300 ml pouring cream
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
Instructions
- I used clams that came in 500g packs, which have been cleaned, purged of dirt and are par cooked. There is no need to clean them, go straight to the steaming stage.
- If you purchase your clams loose at the fishmonger you will need to rinse and scrub them to remove any dirt. Once this is done place the clams in a bowl of water for around an hour. This entices them to discard some of the grit from within their shells.
- If using packaged clams (as mentioned above), place clams and any liquid from the packet into a medium/large pot that has a lid.
- If using loose clams that you have cleaned, remove from the bowl and water, draining well. Place in a medium/large pot that has a lid.
- Place enough water in the pot to come up the side by around 3cm. Place lid on the pot and bring water to the boil. Reduce heat to a rolling simmer and steam clams until they open, 5 – 10 minutes.
- Important, reserve the cooking liquid from the clams. With a slotted spoon remove clams from the pot to a colander over the top of a bowl.
- Strain your clam cooking liquid through a fine sieve into a bowl. Set your clam stock to the side.
- When clams are cool enough to handle, remove them from their shells and discard shells. Then roughly chop up the clam meat. Any liquid that has drained off the clams into the bowl under the colander, pour through a fine sieve and add to the reserved clam stock.
- Place speck and butter into a large heavy based pot. Cook over a low temperature until the speck fat has started to render. Add onions to the speck and continue to cook (stirring) until the onions are translucent and very soft. This will take 10 – 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle flour over the onion and speck mixture in the pot and stir until well combined. Continue to cook for a minute or two, to cook the flour.
- Slowly add white wine to the pot, stirring after each addition.
- Add potatoes to the pot along with 3 cups of clam stock. If you don’t have 3 cups, make up the rest of the required liquid with water. You should have enough liquid in the pot that the potatoes are covered. Add thyme and pepper to the pot.
- Cover the pot with a lid and cook on a simmer for 10 minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.
- Add cream to the pot, bring to a simmer and cook for a further couple of minutes. Remove pot from the heat and stir through chopped clams and fresh parsley.
- Serve immediately with crusty bread rolls.
Yes, any clam chowder leftovers will freeze. I ended up freezing a portion which I’m chowing down on as I type. It reheats perfectly; the potatoes do not turn to mush, which was a concern of mine. Just defrost and heat up in a pot.
As I can get very stuck in a soup rut, with my quickie after work wonders, would love to hear what your favourite soup flavours are. Any weird and whacky ones you enjoy, maybe flavour combos I should try?
Sara xxx
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THE HUNGRY MUM
Winter is MY season. I love the cold. I love fireplaces – I don;t have one but it is on the dream list – and soup is my BFF. This looks so rich and lush. I have Miss9 making potato and leek soup as I type #outsourcing but now I want seafood chowder!
Sara
Potato and leek soups my winter go to fave! go miss 9
Katherine
Sara thank you for posting this recipe. It was so simple to make. This is the second recipe that Will and I have made from your blog. The first was the Chicken Karaage. Both were so simple and so tasty. I think the only thing I did differently was use fish stock instead of the clam stock as it was way too gritty. I cant wait to try other recipes.
Sara
Hey Kath, thanks so much and glad you enjoyed it bar the grit. Using a very fine sieve or cheese cloth is a must when making stock from clams, you have to capture any grit left over after purging, but it is well worth it.
john | heneedsfood
I love a good soup and I adore a good chowder. This one looks like a ripper. Especially with that speck, an ingredient I find myself sneaking into almost everything, of late.
Sara
We are both speck sneakers John, I love slipping it into so many winter dishes.
Jen
It might be the middle of summer here, but I still quite fancy a bowl of this, looks delicious!
Sara
Thanks so much Jen, and you are braver than me. Chilled soup maybe in summer 😉
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
This might be the ultimate clam chowder, Sara!
Sara
Awe thanks Jean, so very kind of you.
Donna
YUM! I am absolutely in love with clam chowder, ever since my trip to San Francisco last year 🙂 This version sounds fantastic and I will be trying for sure!
Sara
Donna that would be the first place I ever tried chowder! Down at Fishermans’ wharf, awesome memories.
Derek @ Dad With A Pan
I LOVE CLAM CHOWDER! Like. More than anything. This looks like a really simple recipe to follow. Thanks!
Sara
Thanks Derek!
Jen
I love clam chowder – thanks for the recipe! I used to have this all the time growing up in Maine. It’s been way too long.
Sara
Would love to try clam chowder in an area know for it. I bet the chowder in Maine was amazing.
Byron Thomas
I love soups, stews, and chowders anytime of the year. I’d make this one anytime. Looks great!
Sara
Thanks so much Byron, I must admit I enjoy soup all year round too.
Patti @ CooksRecipeCollection.com
I love chowder! Thanks for sharing. This recipe looks amazing!
Sara
Thanks so much Patti
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
It definitely isn’t soup weather er here in the UK, but this will be perfect when it gets cold – nice and comforting.
Sara
You guys are enjoying summer, definitely not soup weather! Great here in Aus tho 🙂
Ciao Florentina
It is 100″F outside but I would so dive into this !
Sara
Not sure I could dive in at 100F, but is definitely warming me in the colder climes of Sydney right now.
Razena
Thanks for sharing. I love chowder but have never actually made it myself, now I have no excuse.
Sara
It really is well worth making, is now a family fave 🙂
Renee
It’s a little too warm for chowder right now, but I’ll come back to this recipe in the fall. It looks amazing!!!!
Sara
It would be a little warm in the Northern Hemisphere for chowder, but it is awesome right now in Sydney.
Helen | Grab Your Fork
This looks like just the thing I need for winter. Adding speck is such a wicked idea too.
Sara
Thanks Helen, the speck adds a lovely depth.