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09/02/2021 12:01 AMIt was a really nice week.
One of my oldest childhood friends, Rosalie, visited. We ate lobster rolls, grilled steaks, sweet corn, and a big salad. The next night we had pizza and Coca-Cola, just like we did a gazillion years ago.
Also last week, I also had a nice coffee chat with David Collins at Mystic Depot and we talked for almost an hour. He suggested I stop at Sea Well on Masons Island and buy a pint of scallop and bacon soup he thinks is incredible.
There was that hurricane, which was, in my neighborhood, not as bad as it could have been. I never lost power and the only damage was a hummingbird feeder that flew to the grass.
Best of all? I got my COVID booster shot. The day before the storm, I stopped at Stop & Shop to pick up a few things (not toilet paper or a gallon of milk). I went to the pharmacy on-site and asked if I could get the booster. I filled two forms and got my shot. Sunday I ran a fever for about 14 hours, during which I took a couple of ibuprofen. Today I am fine.
Oh, then, just to top things off, Bon Appetit magazine arrived in the mail. There were nice ideas for autumn meals, but I saw a recipe, which I’m sharing here, that required sweet corn, which is just becoming available locally.
I love clam chowder and this recipe uses the blended corn as a thickener. But feel free to add a soupçon of heavy cream or a pat of butter when you serve it!
Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.
Creamy Corn and Clam Chowder with Crispy Chorizo
Adapted from Bon Appetit, September 2021
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
5 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
4 ounces fresh chorizo, preferably Mexican, casings removed
(any dry sausage will do)
1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika or regular smoked paprika
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
24 littleneck clams (about 2 pounds), scrubbed
4 ears of corn, kernels removed (about 4 cups)
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Kosher salt (I use fine sea salt)
Cilantro leaves with tender stems (for serving, optional)
Directions
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium-heat. Add chorizo and cook, breaking up into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon and stirring every minute or so, until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in paprika and stir to combine, then scrape chorizo and all into a small bowl. Wipe out pot.
Pour remaining 2 tablespoons oil into same pot. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often and adding a splash of water if starting to brown, until softened but not browned, 10-12 minutes. Add clams and toss to combine. Cover pot and cook until clams open, 5 to 7 minutes. Uncover and transfer opened clams to a medium bowl, leaving liquid behind. If any clams are still closed, cover pot again and cook remaining until opened, about 4 minutes more. Transfer open clams to bowl; discard any that have not opened at this point. Tent bowl with foil.
Pour 3 cups water into pot and bring to a simmer. Add corn kernels and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove pot from heat and purée one third of chowder in a blender until very smooth. Return purée to pot and mix well (or use an immersion blender, if you have one, and blend directly into the pot until you have blended about one-third and chowder is partly thickened). Stir in lime juice, taste and season with salt if needed.
Divide chowder among shallow bowls and add clams. Spoon chorizo and oil over and scatter some cilantro on top (if you are using cilantro; I know some people hate it!).