The creamy one (Manhattan partisans, another day): clams, bacon, potatoes, and cream in a chowder that's thick but never wallpaper.
1 kg
🦪 Clams ›
steamed open, liquor strained and kept
500 g
🥔 Yukon Gold Potatoes ›
diced
300 ml
🦪 Clam Juice ›
plus the steaming liquor
Mise en place
Before you start
Prep checklist
Clams — steamed open, liquor strained and kept
Yukon Gold Potatoes — diced
Clam Juice — plus the steaming liquor
Steam the clams open in a cup of water; strain and keep every drop of liquor. Chop the meat.
Crisp the bacon; soften onion and celery in the fat, 6 minutes; flour in for 2.
Clam juice, liquor, potatoes, bay, thyme: simmer until the potatoes yield, 12–14 minutes.
Cream and clams in for a final 3 minutes — never boiling again (rubber clams live down that road). Oyster crackers overboard.
Taste before serving and adjust salt and acid — the last 30 seconds of seasoning matter more than any single ingredient.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Refrigerate components separately up to 3 days; dress and assemble just before eating.
Freezing
Salads and sandwiches don't freeze; soups freeze beautifully for 3 months.
Reheating
Soups reheat gently on the stove with a splash of water. Sandwiches and salads are best assembled fresh — store components separately.
Make ahead
Batch the components (proteins, dressings, grains) on Sunday; assemble in minutes all week.
Wine pairing
Something light and cold — a crisp white, a spritz, or iced tea.
Beer pairing
A crisp pilsner or wheat beer keeps lunch light.
On the plate
Serve it with
Sides
·
Kettle chips or a simple green salad
·
Quick-pickled vegetables
Garnish
Flaky salt and cracked pepper
A drizzle of good olive oil
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