Or, you know, New England-ish. I have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to regional offerings, as we discussed yesterday. 
This is the second of the #superbowl recipes that I have for you this year, both seafoody to celebrate the fact that both of the teams come from places that CELEBRATE seafood.
I celebrate all food.
I originally had a plan to make this a little bit fancier - start with pancetta, use live clams, white wine, fresh thyme....all the good stuff. But then nowhere in this city had fresh clams, even the expensive places. And then I forgot about the pancetta. And then I figured, it's the effing Super Bowl. Not fussy. Let's be really simple in this instead of fancypants. So that's what I did! The results were delicious, and this is an easy peasy chowder. A touchdown, you could say. Heh.
You need a potato, some carrots/celery/onion, butter, clams, flour, stock, Old Bay, and cream. Simple stuff! You add some water, and I actually used the same water I used to boil the lobsters yesterday for extra flavor. SO, if you have some lobster water lying around, grab that too. Or not. 
First, prep the veggies! Preheat a soup pot to medium heat, too. We want everything pretty teensy so it melts all together when the soup is finished. Potato, celery, carrot, onion. 
Then, add the veggies and half the butter to the pot. Let them cook for 5 minutes or so until they start to soften. 
When the veggies have softened, add make a well in the center of the mixture and add the remaining butter, the flour, and the Old Bay. Then, we mix the flour/butter together in the center of the pot to make a roux that will thicken the soup. When a paste forms, stir the veggies into the roux and let the flour cook for 2 minutes. 
Now, liquids! Water or weird lobster water...
...and stock. 
Now we just simmer! Let the mixture simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes until the potato is cooked through and the soup has slightly thickened. Then add the clams. 
And the cream! Stir everything, taste, add salt if you need to. Let the clams and the cream heat through for 2 minutes or so until the soup is hot, then serve!
Crusty bread is a must, parsley is a maybe. I love sherry vinegar in creamy soups, Jay hates it, so that's a personal decision. (jay's wrong)
This is glorious, super simple, and so cozy for this ridiculously cold weather. 
Or, the super duper regional SB party you're throwing Sunday.
Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- ½ stick butter
- 1 baking potato chopped
- 2 carrots finely diced
- 2 ribs celery finely diced
- ½ onion finely diced
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay plus more if needed
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 3 cans chopped clams in their juices
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Add half the butter and all the vegetables to a large soup pot over medium heat. Cook the veggies for 5 minutes until they start to soften slightly. Sprinkle the veggies with the Old Bay.
- Make a well in the center of the vegetable mixture and add the remaining butter and flour. When the butter melts into the flour, stir in the veggies - they will be sticky once covered in the flour. Let the vegetables cook with the flour for 2 minutes more, then slowly stream in the water and stock, stirring as you go to incorporate the flour.
- Let the soup come to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer, uncovered for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through and the soup has thickened slightly. Stir in the clams and cream and let cook for 3 minutes more to heat through.
- Serve. Eat!
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