Summer Chowder With Cod and Clams
Updated July 1, 2024
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 pound cod or other white fish, cut into 2-inch chunks
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped dill, plus 3 tablespoons chopped dill for garnish
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, diced small (about 2 cups)
½ cup diced celery (2 small ribs)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 cups whole milk
1 small dried bay leaf
Pinch of ground cayenne
1½ pounds yellow-fleshed potatoes (preferably on the smaller side), peeled and sliced ¼-inch-thick
1½ cups corn kernels (from 2 ears)
12 littleneck clams, rinsed
Zest of 1 lemon
1 serrano chile, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons thinly sliced chives, for garnish
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
51 grams carbs; 86 milligrams cholesterol; 505 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 21 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 1351 milligrams sodium; 32 grams protein; 17 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Place fish in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add olive oil and 1 teaspoon chopped dill. Toss to coat and set aside.
- Step 2
Melt butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until onions are softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Lower heat as necessary to keep onions from browning.
- Step 3
Over medium-high heat, sprinkle onion-celery mixture with flour and stir to coat well. Add milk 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently to prevent scorching as it thickens, bringing to a simmer between additions, until all 6 cups have been incorporated. (Add more milk as needed to thin. The consistency should be like a thin milkshake.) Add bay leaf and cayenne. Taste and add salt, if necessary.
- Step 4
Lower heat to medium and add potatoes. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Step 5
Add corn and clams, and cook until clams begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add fish, stir well, and adjust heat to maintain a low simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, until fish is opaque. Stir in lemon zest.
- Step 6
To serve, divide fish and sauce among 6 soup bowls, with 2 clams per bowl. Add a few slivers of serrano chile to each bowl and sprinkle generously with chopped dill and chives.
Private Notes
Comments
Highly recommend cutting three cups of the milk and adding three cups of fish stock and/or clam juice instead. Far more savory!
In the New England Clam chowder tradition add some pork in the form of salt pork, pancetta or smokey bacon then saute the veg in that and you're making a clam chowder, though this is really a fish chowder in these parts.
I made this almost exactly as written (I ran out of milk and used a cup of water instead of the 6th cup of milk) and it is perfect and refreshing on a hot summer evening. I will make this again and again! Thank you chef!
SO SO GOOD. My family said “make this again with more everything!” which relates to the seafood and corn. I could see adding scallops and shrimp. And corn kernels from a third ear. I made some zhuzhes to make it heartier: - rendered pancetta, removed the meat before adding 2 tbs butter for the onion (and added the pancetta back at the end) - 3 cups milk/3 cups Jose Andres seafood broth - used a splash of dry white wine to deglaze the pan before adding milk/broth - added smoked paprika along with the cayenne for depth - didn’t include the serrano chile - had a nice low burn without it - didn’t include chives but the dill held down the fort just fine
This is one of my favorite NYT recipes in quite a while, and I like most of them. This chowder is stellar. I made it as directed with only one modification: I used I quart of whole milk and 2 cups of fish stock. The texture was perfect. I quartered small yellow potatoes and kept skins on. I think the lemon zest was a perfect compliment to the chowder. The fish monger was out of cod so we used halibut. I will keep this in rotation.
Great Friday-for-Lent meal! Made a 2/3 recipe since just two of us and was delicious (and was still a lot of leftovers!). Got very thick so added a bottle of clam juice near the end, and was still pretty thick so next time might sub a bit more clam juice for the milk. Used 1/2 lb. cod and a can of clams. Will definitely be in the rotation!