Name: New England Clam Chowder
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 120 g streaky bacon, cut into small strips; 1 tbsp butter; 1 onion, diced; 2 stalks celery, finely diced; 1 carrot, thinly sliced; 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 400 g potatoes, peeled, in 1 cm cubes (floury); 3 tbsp plain flour (about 30 g); 3 cans chopped clams in their own juice (about 185 g each; reserve the juice); bottled clam juice (if the juice from the cans does not make up 400 ml); 350 ml chicken stock; 1 bay leaf; 0.5 tsp dried thyme; 0.5 tsp salt (adjust only at the end, the bacon and clams are already salty); 0.5 tsp black pepper; 200 ml double cream; fresh parsley, chopped (to serve); oyster crackers (to serve, optional)

Preparation

Drain the clams and reserve the juice. Top up with bottled clam juice to 400 ml and set aside.
Render the bacon in a large pot over a medium heat until crisp. Lift out half with a slotted spoon and put it on kitchen paper for later.
Add the butter to the bacon fat and soften the onion, celery and carrot in it over a medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the potatoes and garlic and fry briefly. Dust over the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring.
Pour in the stock and clam juice, add the bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Then simmer gently, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
Stir in the cream and heat the soup through without boiling it for long. Remove the bay leaf, take the pot off the heat and stir in the clams, as they turn tough if boiled for long.
Season with salt and pepper. If the soup is too thick, thin it with a little stock or cream. Serve with the reserved bacon, parsley and crackers.

Drink with it

White wine · excellent match
Chardonnay with some body, only lightly oaked
Creamy fullness and fresh acidity stand up to the cream and salt, and the light butteriness of the wine picks up the bacon.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing
Smoky whisky · excellent match
Smoky coastal whisky (Talisker, Islay), neat with a splash of water
Peat smoke and sea salt in the whisky meet the rendered bacon and the clam broth, and the alcohol cuts through cream and butter, as with the Scottish fish soup Cullen Skink.
Why Does Whisky Taste Smoky? Peat, Simply Explained
Sparkling wine · good match
Crémant or Champagne brut
Bubbles and acidity loosen the thick, creamy soup and keep the clams fresh.
Sparkling wine, Champagne, and Prosecco: what's the difference?
Pale lager · good match
Pilsner or pale lager, well chilled
Bitterness and carbonation cut the cream and bacon fat, and the malt suits the potatoes.
Pils or Helles: What's the Difference?
Junmai sake · good match
Junmai, lightly warmed (about 40 °C)
The sea note of the clams meets the soft umami of the junmai, and its round acidity catches the cream.
Junmai, Ginjo, Daiginjo: What do these mean for sake?

Why it pairs well

Sake is unusual with an American clam soup, but it shares the umami note from the sea.

Preparation

Drain the clams and reserve the juice. Top up with bottled clam juice to 400 ml and set aside.
Render the bacon in a large pot over a medium heat until crisp. Lift out half with a slotted spoon and put it on kitchen paper for later.
Add the butter to the bacon fat and soften the onion, celery and carrot in it over a medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the potatoes and garlic and fry briefly. Dust over the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring.
Pour in the stock and clam juice, add the bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Then simmer gently, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
Stir in the cream and heat the soup through without boiling it for long. Remove the bay leaf, take the pot off the heat and stir in the clams, as they turn tough if boiled for long.
Season with salt and pepper. If the soup is too thick, thin it with a little stock or cream. Serve with the reserved bacon, parsley and crackers.

Drink with it

White wine · excellent match
Chardonnay with some body, only lightly oaked
Creamy fullness and fresh acidity stand up to the cream and salt, and the light butteriness of the wine picks up the bacon.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing
Smoky whisky · excellent match
Smoky coastal whisky (Talisker, Islay), neat with a splash of water
Peat smoke and sea salt in the whisky meet the rendered bacon and the clam broth, and the alcohol cuts through cream and butter, as with the Scottish fish soup Cullen Skink.
Why Does Whisky Taste Smoky? Peat, Simply Explained
Sparkling wine · good match
Crémant or Champagne brut
Bubbles and acidity loosen the thick, creamy soup and keep the clams fresh.
Sparkling wine, Champagne, and Prosecco: what's the difference?
Pale lager · good match
Pilsner or pale lager, well chilled
Bitterness and carbonation cut the cream and bacon fat, and the malt suits the potatoes.
Pils or Helles: What's the Difference?
Junmai sake · good match
Junmai, lightly warmed (about 40 °C)
The sea note of the clams meets the soft umami of the junmai, and its round acidity catches the cream.
Junmai, Ginjo, Daiginjo: What do these mean for sake?

Why it pairs well

Sake is unusual with an American clam soup, but it shares the umami note from the sea.

New England Clam Chowder

Preparation

Drink with it

Chardonnay with some body, only lightly oaked

Smoky coastal whisky (Talisker, Islay), neat with a splash of water

Crémant or Champagne brut

Pilsner or pale lager, well chilled

Junmai, lightly warmed (about 40 °C)

This pairs well too.

Lemon Risotto with Smoked Salmon

Spaghetti with Smoked Salmon and Lemon Cream Sauce

Zwiebelkuchen (German onion tart) with Bacon

Cioppino

New England Clam Chowder

Preparation

Drink with it

Chardonnay with some body, only lightly oaked

Smoky coastal whisky (Talisker, Islay), neat with a splash of water

Crémant or Champagne brut

Pilsner or pale lager, well chilled

Junmai, lightly warmed (about 40 °C)

This pairs well too.

Lemon Risotto with Smoked Salmon

Spaghetti with Smoked Salmon and Lemon Cream Sauce

Zwiebelkuchen (German onion tart) with Bacon

Cioppino