What's Cooking With Dive? Down East Anglia Clam Chowder

Chowdah! Yay!
Time once again to put on your pinnies and join me in the kitchen for another item on our menu of international cuisine.

This time we're heading over the pond to prove that the good ol' US of Ay has given more to the gastronomic world than the vomitous excrescences of viral junk-food, McD, KFC et al.

They've also given us cheez-whiz and Paula Deen's awesomely Elvis-licious "hamburger served between two Krispy-Kreme Do-nuts with a fried egg on top".

And of course the irresistibly creamy lush-fest that is clam chowder.

Just feast your greedy eyes on that!
Yummy!

And yes, Mme, those are your Adelaide coasters we are using. Yay!

So … being a total US cookery virgin, I am basing this on a recipe from "Yankee" magazine, where they call it Down East Clam Chowder.

Dive? Using a recipe? Is the world ending?
Very probably …
But not before we've eaten, so let's get cooking.

To make this more of a transatlantic dish I'm using Italian pancetta instead of the "cubed salt pork" the recipe calls for and some deliciously creamy Jersey Royal potatoes.
As always, all ingredients are organic (except the crackers, dammit).
Plus, we're making it in Brundall from fresh, local clams so I'm changing the title to Down East Anglia Clam Chowder.
Yes, I said "we"; we're cooking for two now. Woohoo!

Right!
Clams!

Pretty little critturs, ain't they?
I love the clattery sound clams make when I stir fry them, but we won't be doing that today.
Today they're going to die of cream poisoning.
The recipe says to watch out for sediment in the bottom of the pan, but that's only if you cook clams without letting them wash themselves first; these guys have been left in clean, slightly salty water overnight so they've spat out any sand they may have had left inside their tummies.

Jersey Royal potatoes. I know they're expensive, especially the organic ones, but this is a creamy dish and these are the creamiest potatoes on the planet.
So duh!

And yes, I do know the one in the middle is an onion, thank you.

Hokay … Let's rattle those clams into a nice pot and give them a cup full of filtered water to bathe in.
Then pop the lid on, nice and tight, bring the water to the boil and cook 'em for a few minutes.

The recipe says ten minutes but these local clams are fresh as fresh and were all done in four minutes.
Perfect.
Discard any that are still closed; antisocial clams don't deserve to come to the party.

Pour off and retain the clam liquor (okay, let's get rid of all those "clam licker" schoolboy jokes here. Anyone still giggling gets no dinner).

Aww shucks! … Sorry, I couldn't resist …
Yup … Shuck the little buggers. Or, better still, get your pretty girlfriend to do it for you while you photograph her. Yay!

Okey-dokey …
So we've got the clams cooked and the bowl of clam liquor all ready; now we shall toss a chopped onion and a handful of diced pancetta into some hot olive oil and sweat the whole mess down to release all of that lovely fat.

Mmmmmmmmm … Fat …
I've said it before and I'll say it again: lean meat is simply an exercise in chewing; the flavour is in the fat. And this dish is so full of flavour.

Once the onion is transparent and the pancetta has sweated out, decant the lot into the big pot , add the clam liquor and the rough chopped potatoes and bring to the boil, adding just enough (not too much) water to cover the potatoes, and simmer until the potatoes are tender.

Now you want to add two cups of milk and two cups of cream (single cream - what the Yanquis call "haff'n'haff" - or evaporated milk)
Let that settle into a nice comfortable simmer.

Add the clams and a big ol' wodge of unsalted Irish butter and simmer for a couple more minutes until the butter is melted and the clams achieve perfection.

Do NOT bring to the boil unless you like tough, chewy clams and do NOT add salt unless you like everything to taste of salt and then die of a heart attack.
Believe me, there is sufficient cream and fat in this dish to bring on a good heart attack without spoiling the flavour with salt.

Dish it up! Woohoo!
Serve with genuine Westminster all natural Oyster Crackers and a chilled white wine - we used a chardonnay-chenin blend to cut through the fat.

This is simply awesomely creamy and delicious. We made enough for four and ate the lot.

Enjoy!