New England Seafood Chowder
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A New England-style seafood chowder is milk-based - never tomato-based - and generally includes potatoes and onions as well as seafood, which makes it a complete meal in a bowl. The key to a great chowder is to cook the seafood as briefly as possible, so that each spoonful contains meltingly tender seafood in a creamy rich broth.
INGREDIENTS
2 dozen hard-shell clams, scrubbed
Water
1/4 pound bacon or salt pork, chopped
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1-1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 pound white fish fillet, such as cod, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 pound bay scallops
1 cup light cream
Salt, optional
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsleyPut the clams in a large pot with 2 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, shaking the pot occasionally until the clams begin to open, about 3 minutes. Remove the open clams and continue to cook for another minute or two, covered, removing more clams as soon as they open. Discard any clams that do not open.
When the clams are cool enough to handle, remove them from their shells, holding them over a bowl to catch all their juices. Chop the clams. Pour the broth through a sieve lined with a coffee filter or paper towels into a glass measure; this should remove all the grit and sand. Add enough water to measure 4 cups.
Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium heat until crisp, about 6 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Pour off and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Add the onion and celery and sauté over medium heat in the remaining bacon fat until limp, about 3 minutes. Add the 4 cups clam liquid and potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 20 minutes.
Add the fish fillet and scallops to the pot. Simmer, covered, until the fish is just cooked, about 3 minutes. Add the cream and chopped clams. Season to taste with salt, if desired, and pepper. Heat just long enough to return the liquid to a simmer.
Serve in individual soup bowls, crumbling the bacon and sprinkling the parsley on top of each.
Makes 4 to 6 servings