The fresh dill in this New England Clam Chowder recipe is all important! It just makes the chowder come alive and be totally different from other chowders.
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick bacon diced
- 1/3 medium Spanish onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 4 stalks celery stalk finely diced
- 1 tbsp celery seed
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tspn hot chili sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2-3 small white potatoes peeled and sliced in 8ths
- 1 6 oz can whole clams
- 2 cups clam juice juice from can plus juice from bottled clam juice
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2-3 fronds fresh dill sprigs finely chopped
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients before starting recipe
- Strain clams and reserve clam juice
- Finely chop 2-3 sprigs of fresh dill and set aside
- Peel and dice 2-3 small white potatoes and reserve
- Cut 4 slices of thick bacon into lardoons, (cut across the width of each strip, about 1/4" slices)
- Heat a small skillet over medium high heat and add bacon, cook the bacon until it turns a nice golden color, remove bacon and reserve pan dripping
- Peel and finely chop 1/3 of a medium Spanish onion and finely chop 4 stalks of celery
- Pour bacon drippings into a stock pot and add onion and celery to bacon dripping and sauté over medium heat until the vegetables begin to get soft, 4-5 minutes
- Add celery seed, Worcestershire sauce and hot chili sauce to onion mixture and stir to combine
- Grate 2 medium cloves of garlic into onion mixture and stir to combine, cook for 1 minute, then add 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon of flour
- Stir to combine and cook for about 2 minutes
- Add vegetable stock and the 2 cups of the reserved clam juice and bottled clam juice and stir to mix in with flour and remove any lumps
- Bring to a boil, add diced potatoes, bring to a boil again, reduce heat to a medium simmer and cook potatoes for 10-15 minutes, or until soft.
- Add heavy cream and reserved canned clams, check for seasoning
Serving
- Ladle chowder into bowls, top each bowl with reserved chopped bacon and sprinkle with fresh chopped dill.
