3274. SWEET POTATO CLAM CHOWDER with BACON

2 dozen medium clams (such as Manila) or 3 dozen small clams (such as Littlenecks)
1 1/2 cups water
1 12-oz. bottle of clam juice, as needed
1 cup (about 4-5 slices) diced raw applewood smoked bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 1/2 cups (about 1/4 lb.) raw sweet potato, peeled and diced into 2-inch chunks
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups half-and-half

Scrub the clams well. Spread them in an even layer in a large 12-inch frying pan with a lid. Add the water, cover, and bring to the water to a boil. Set a heatproof bowl nearby to hold the cooked clams. Cook the clams until the shells open, about 2 to 5 minutes. As a clam opens, remove it from the pan with tongs and plop it into the waiting bowl. Give the clams 5 minutes more to cook, transferring clams as they open. After 5 minutes, turn off the heat and discard any clams that remain closed. Pour the pan liquid through a fine-meshed sieve or cheesecloth to strain out any grit. You should have about 1 1/2 cups clam cooking liquid. If there is less than that, add enough bottled clam juice to equal this amount. Set the liquid aside. Transfer the clams, still in their shells, back to the pan and cover it with a lid to keep the clams from drying out while you finish the chowder.

Cook the bacon in a 3-quart soup pot until crisp and brown. When the bacon is done transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pot. Discard the rest of the bacon fat. Using the same soup pot in which you cooked the bacon, pour back in the 1 tablespoon of bacon fat, add the olive oil and heat over a medium flame for a few seconds; add the onion and celery. Cook vegetables until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, clam cooking liquid, the bay leaf, salt and pepper. (Save the cooked bacon to sprinkle over the chowder just before serving.) Cover the pan and simmer just until the sweet potatoes are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

While the chowder simmers, remove the clams from their shell. You can use a paring knife or even a grapefruit spoon to scrape them out of their shells and into a bowl. Discard the shells. When the sweet potatoes are perfectly done, add the clams to the chowder. Pour in the Half and Half, heat gently until the chowder is piping hot, and ladle it into individual serving bowls. Sprinkle bacon around the edge of the chowder and serve.


bacon recipe source: Cat Cora.com

1555. CLAM, PORK, SAUSAGE and BACON STEW

1 can (28-ounce) Italian plum tomatoes with juices
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 (1/4-inch-thick) slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
4 ounces chourico or chorizo, casings removed and cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 ounces pork tenderloin, loin, or shoulder, cut into 1/4-inch dice (optional)
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 pounds littleneck or Manila clams, cleaned
8 ounces romano or other green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths

Fit a food mill with the medium disk, and set the mill on the rim of a medium bowl. Put the tomatoes with their juices in the food mill and puree. Reverse the crank to extract every bit of flavor from the tomato pulp, and occasionally stop to clean the underside of the mill with a rubber spatula, so the puree falls freely. Discard the pulp left in the strainer. Set the puree aside.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot enough to sizzle a piece of bacon. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the onion and red and green peppers and saute, stirring, for 8 minutes, or until the vegetables are wilted and beginning to turn golden. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Stir in the chourico and pork and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with the paprika and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add the wine, tomatoes, and parsley and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until liquid is slightly reduced.

Spoon half of the sauce into the cataplana; spoon the clams on top and scatter the green beans over the clams. Spoon the remaining sauce on top. Secure the cover in place.

Place the cataplana over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes, or until the clams have opened. Bring the cataplana to the table and, using oven mitts, carefully remove the cover. Discard any clams that failed to open. Spoon the clams and rich sauce into warmed shallow bowls and serve at once.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Things Cooks Love by Marie Simmons. Andrews McNeel, 2008

910. STEAMED MANILA CLAMS with SOFRITO, SWEET SAKE, BACON and FRIED GINGER

serves six


3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling
1/4 cup julienne of fresh ginger
1/4 cup chopped bacon
1 cup diced white onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup 1/4-inch diced red peppers
1/2 cup 1/4-inch diced yellow peppers
1/2 cup 1/4-inch diced poblano peppers
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
48 Manila clams (New Zealand cockles can be substituted)
1/2 cup sweet sake
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a small frying pan, add the julienne of ginger, and cook until golden. Drain and set the ginger on a paper towel to dry.

Add the bacon to a large, hot frying pan and cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon is cooked and crisp. Add the onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent. Add all the peppers and cook until they are soft, then sprinkle in the thyme. Add the clams and sweet sake to the sofrito in the pan, and cook until the clams have steamed open. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place 8 steamed clams in each bowl and spoon the sofrito mixture on top. Garnish with the fried ginger and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.


courtesy of: Michael Cressotti and Taka, Sushi Samba 7, 87 Seventh Avenue South, New York, New York 10014

279. STEAMED CLAMS with BACON and BEER

yields 4 servings


4 slices bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 pounds manila clams, scrubbed well
1 cup beer, water or chicken stock


Fry bacon in a medium pot until soft and golden, about 4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and continue cooking until the bacon is nicely browned and the onion is tender, about 4 minutes longer. Stir in the clams and add the beer. Cover the pot and steam the clams for 6-7 minutes, until they open. Discard any clams that do not open. Stir gently to mix with the bacon, garlic and onion, and serve immediately.


courtesy of: Off The Hook: Reflections & Recipes from an Old Salt, by Roger Fitzgerald and Susan Volland. Ten Speed Press, January 2002.