Chowder-Soaked Toast
Published May 20, 2017
Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Rebecca Bartoshesky.
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, minced, scraps reserved
2 ribs celery, minced, scraps reserved
2 sprigs tarragon
30 littleneck clams, rinsed and scrubbed
6 ounces dry white wine
6 ounces clam juice
⅓ pound guanciale, sliced thin
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 leeks, dark, woody green parts removed, sliced into coins and washed well
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, medium dice
2 sprigs thyme, picked
Salt and pepper
3 cups heavy cream
12 ounces chopped clams
6 pieces of a dense rustic loaf, cut into thick 2-inch-by-2-inch squares
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
43 grams carbs; 190 milligrams cholesterol; 896 calories; 21 grams monosaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 32 grams saturated fat; 64 grams fat; 2 grams trans fat; 4 grams fiber; 1348 milligrams sodium; 33 grams protein; 8 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
Put the olive oil in a Dutch oven, and heat on medium-high for approximately 1 minute, until the oil starts to streak. Add onion scraps and celery scraps, tarragon and littleneck clams. Stir briefly to coat with oil, and barely soften, then add the wine. Reduce the wine by half, then add 3 ounces of clam juice. Cover, and allow clams to steam open, checking often so as to remove the clams as they open, until all are open and removed. Set clams aside.
- Step 2
Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth, and reserve the liquid. Remove all but 6 clams from the shell. Meanwhile, in a cast-iron or heavy-bottomed sauté pan, render the slices of guanciale in the canola oil until they are browned evenly on both sides. Reserve the fat and the guanciale.
- Step 3
In the Dutch oven, heat the guanciale fat, and add onion, celery, leeks, potatoes and thyme, stirring to coat. Season with salt and pepper, and cook over low heat until the vegetables have just started to soften, taking care not to brown, about 5 minutes. Cover the vegetables with remaining clam juice, and simmer until potatoes are al dente.
- Step 4
Stir in the cream, and simmer until vegetables are cooked through, taking care not to boil. Add the chopped clams and the littlenecks, and season to taste with salt and ground black pepper. Remove from heat.
- Step 5
Toast the bread until golden, and place each piece in a bowl. Cover the toast with pieces of guanciale, and then add a ladleful of the chowder, about 6 ounces. Garnish with the remaining littleneck clams still in the shell.
Private Notes
Comments
Why cook the guanciale in a pan, then add the fat to a different cooking vessel?
Restaurant-scale prep may make this necessary, but as a home cook, I would cook the guanciale in the Dutch oven, and, once rendered, remove the meat, and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
there needs to be a rule, and i think there actually might be one along these lines in massachusetts...if your employer requires you to wear special clothing at work then they should pay you for the time to change. making people punch in after they change is chicken droppings. those same people will be trapped on the line for several hours, no break, most likely a shabby meal eaten in haste, or none at all. please, spare me the tyranny of trying to save four minutes. i know it adds up over the year, but just relax.
If this article were written by a male chef referring to a collaboration with his chef/wife, would you have thought differently? I suspect so.
Your condescending comment is missing a "harrumph" at the end.
I made this recipe for my family this summer and it was a huge hit. I went to the local fish market here in San Diego and order two kinds of clams...The little neck and a smaller clam from New Zealand, so that I could stretch the recipe. I substituted lobster juice for the clam juice. Otherwise, I followed the recipe to the T. An all day affair between shopping and preparing, but well worth the time spent. Truly a delicious treat.
Made it last night, very good however; instructions are not clear. Ingredient list includes 6 oz. clam juice, 3 to use to steam the clams and the balance to use with the vegetables. Since the first 3 oz. is used to steam the clams the “clam juice” can’t be referring to the strained/reserve liquid. It is still unclear to me what do with the strained/reserve liquid. Anyone?
Rendered the guanciale in the Dutch oven and removed the guanciale prior to adding the vegetables, makes much more sense
NYT could you clarify the questions please. I was all ready to try this because I loved the prose in the magazine. Then, as I always do, I looked at the comments and now I'm confused! Are the chopped clams canned? And what do we do with the broth? I would have tossed it in the chowder but perhaps that's wrong?