Wild Easy Clam Chowder Recipe
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The best day to make yourself that perfect pot of easy clam chowder, is when you find fresh little wild clams at the market at a good price. Summer, winter, rain or shine, any day is a great day to dive into a bowl of wild clam chowder and soak up those juice with crusty pieces of rustic bruschetta.
That’s exactly what I did after I hit Costco for my monthly grocery trip, and found myself with 6 pounds of clams in the kitchen.
Spaghetti vongole was a no brainer, then I threw about a dozen of them under the broiler with cherry tomatoes and lemons tossed in olive oil, and the rest of them: in this easy clam chowder they went.
Besides the fact that this is a cream based broth, clams are very nutritious, plus we all deserve a little indulgence once in a while. Once you divide the total amount of cream used by 6 portions, you realize it’s really not that much after all. So enjoy the heck out of this comforting easy clam chowder, love yourself and be Happy 🙂
I intentionally called it an easy clam chowder, because well, usually chowders can be intimidating. But really if you just take it one step at a time, it is a very easy recipe to execute, and oh so darn delicious !Â
P.S. Because both fresh clams and canned clams contain sea water, wait until the very end to adjust seasonings to your taste. You might not even want to add any sea salt.Â
Peace, Love & Food !
Wild Easy Clam Chowder Recipe
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 4 tbsp organic all purpose flour
- 8 oz clam juice
- 3 inch small golden potatoes – diced into 1/2 cubes
- 1 bay leaf
- 10 sprigs of thyme
- 1 small onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 oz x 6.5 cans of wild clams with juices
- 2 lb fresh baby clams
- 10 peppercorns
- 1 c organic heavy cream
- 2 egg yolks organic
- A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for garnish
- 5 fresh chives snipped
- leaves The from 2 thyme sprigs for garnish
- 1 qt filtered water
- sea salt to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- Red pepper flakes for garnish optional
Instructions
- Heat up 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a larger cast iron pot. Add the garlic cloves and pan sear until golden. Transfer to a plate.
- Add 3 tbsp of the butter and sauté the onion with a pinch of sea salt until translucent. Whisk in the flour and cook for a few minutes making sure not to burn it. Add the clam juice and continue whisking until thickened.
- Pour in the water, add the garlic, peppercorns and potatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the bay leaf and thyme and simmer together until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add In the canned clams with their juices and the fresh clams. Simmer until all the clams have opened, the ones that do not open you must discard.
- Meanwhile whisk the cream and egg yolks together and gently add a little bit of the chowder liquid to temper the eggs. Once hot add it to the pot with the chowder and give it a stir to incorporate. Remove from heat and stir In the cold butter for a silky creamy finish.
- Adjust seasonings with sea salt as every clam juice can contain different amounts of the sea water.
- Serve garnished with fresh thyme leaves, snipped chives and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top. Serve with lots of garlicbruschetta.
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P.S. these Garlic Clams <—The Best Ever !
