Despite it being well into Spring, Tokyo has experienced a cold snap these last few days. To make matters worse, it’s raining – I feel guilty saying that as an Australian! – and the sky is a dull, drab gray. In order to cheer myself up a little, I recently made a Spring Chowder. Unfortunately I was not organised enough to take any pictures. I’ll make up for it in a separate post:
Spring Chowder (feeds x 4)
1.5kg cleaned clams ( I actually think you could get by with less)
3 cups water
1 tblspn light olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 streaky bacon rashers, chopped
2 white onions, sliced
1 red chilli, seeded & finely chopped
1 carrot, grated or chopped finely
1 bay leaf
2 large desiree potatoes, peeled & diced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 cup roughly chopped Italian (flat leaf) parsley
Salt, white pepper
Crusty bread to serve
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Throw any any clams that remain open when you tap them. Bring 2 x cups water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add clams, cover, and steam for 2-3 minutes. Discard any that remain closed. De-shell most of the cooked clams, leaving some whole for garnish. Strain and reserve the clam liquid.
Put the olive oil, garlic and bacon in the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the bacon has browned. Add onions, chilli, carrot and bay leaf. When the onion is translucent, tip in the potatoes, clam liquid and 1 x cup of water. Cover and simmer for 35 mins. Add the celery, clams and parsley, season with salt and white pepper. Ladle the chowder into bowls and garnish with the whole clams. Serve with crusty bread.
