My inspiration for this chowder is living so close to the water with an abundance of fresh seafood to choose from. The nice part of this recipe is its versatility. The first part of the chowder is a rich tomato broth base, and the second part is adaptable to allow you to swap out any of the seafood based on seasonal availability and your own personal preference.
Is it soup or stew? Early versions of chowder simmered from the New England area: a frugal recipe of pork fat, onions, potatoes, fish, herbs, dry biscuits or flour for thickening, and layered in a pot and cooked in water, with a bit of milk added at the end. In the 1800s, the Manhattan clam chowder was notable because it contains tomatoes. Manhattan clam chowder has been described as "that rather horrendous soup resembling a vegetable soup that accidentally had some clams dumped into it." All respect Mr. Beard, but those are fighting words. As a New Yorker and from coastal Long Island, an East Ender, we take our chowder VERY seriously.
Tomato-based clam chowders came about with the newfound popularity of the tomato in the mid-1800s with the large population of Italians and Portuguese in the New York and Rhode Island region. In 1939, Maine legislators introduced a bill outlawing tomatoes in chowder because it is far more of a vegetable soup. What?
Manhattan Style Seafood Chowder, "Hee-ah er wicked good CHOWDAH"!
Makes 6-8 servings
chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle TV series
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped
1/4 cup fennel, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
2 cups Yukon potatoes, scrubbed and diced into 1/2 pieces
2 cups fresh plum tomatoes, deseeded and chopped or 1 (28 ounces can, chopped San Marzano tomatoes)
2 cups vegetable or fish broth
1 teaspoon dried basil
For the seafood:
1 dozen fresh littleneck clams
1/2 pound fresh cod, cut into one-inch pieces
1/4 pound calamari, cleaned and cut into thin rings
1 pound mussels, cleaned
a few leaves of fresh flat leaf parsley, basil and oregano
fresh ground pepper to taste
Pre heat a large soup pot to medium temperature. Add olive oil and onions, fennel, carrots, and garlic until tender. Add tomatoes, broth, potatoes, and dried basil. Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer for 10 minutes. Add clams and cod fish, gently simmer for 10 minutes. Add fresh basil, parsley, mussels and cook for 3-5 minutes or until mussels open.
Add fresh ground black pepper to taste & serve immediately.
