Delicious East Hampton Clam Chowder – Ina Garten

It’s been a long time since we’ve made this soup but while organizing the pantry recently, I discovered several cans of clams that had been on hand for awhile so I decided it was time to make it again.  I had planned a different meal for this day as Bev’s birthday meal but when Eliza called to wish her Meme a happy birthday, she also invited herself down so I switched to the much easier chowder for the meal, plus it was a fifties overcast day so still pretty good for soup.  This is the Ina Garten’s recipe and I followed the recipe for 6-8 servings.  I sure prefer recipes that use measurable amounts (I used one onion, 7 celery stalks, and 5 carrots) plus I chopped my veggies smaller than she did on her video – larger makes for a better presentation but smaller is easier to eat.

East Hampton Clam Chowder – Amended from foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, divided

2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)

2 cups medium-diced celery (4 stalks)

2 cups medium-diced carrots (6 carrots)

4 cups peeled medium-diced boiling potatoes 

1½ teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves (½ teaspoon dried)

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 quart (4 cups) clam juice

½ cup all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

3 cups chopped fresh chowder clams (1 1/2 pounds shucked clams)

Directions:

Melt 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of the butter in a large heavy-bottomed stockpot. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until translucent. 

Add the celery, carrots, potatoes, thyme, salt, and pepper and saute for 10 more minutes. 

Add the clam juice, bring to a boil, and simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

I cooked it to this point in early afternoon then added the roux, milk and clams (in the last couple of minutes) when we were ready to eat.

In a small pot, melt the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter and whisk in the flour. Cook over very low heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. 

Whisk in a cup of the hot broth and then pour this mixture back into the cooked vegetables. Simmer for a few minutes until the broth is thickened.

Add the milk and clams and heat gently for a few minutes to cook the clams.

Taste for salt and pepper. Serve hot.

We served the chowder with Bev's Mexican cornbread which is an Eliza favorite.

The Verdict:

We all loved it and, while it was different than other clam chowders I’ve eaten, with the celery and carrots and no bacon, I cannot remember a clam chowder I thought was much better than this except maybe Tony’s in Cedar Key, FL.  Bev said this was the best clam chowder she ever had and she’s had Tony’s – she even commented on it the next morning.  Not everyone will see it that way but I thought it was certainly up there and worth your giving it a try. 

The last time I used baby clams they were chewy but when I tried one of these out of the can it was tender and they were tender in the soup so adding them to the chowder at the last minute obviously made a big difference (this works because it’s the clam juice and not the clams that add most of the flavor to the soup) and I will definitely use the liquid from the cans again.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

4/21/24 meal date