When I lived in the USA I discovered many interesting dishes. One of these was the New England Clam Chowder, a very rich and fatty potato and clam soup.
I adapted it once in Italy for a number of reasons: I hate onion with mussels, the cream that is very present in the American dish had to be reduced in quantity, I prefer chili pepper to pepper and I rarely mix pork with fish or mussels.

Clam chowder Italian style

  • Preparation time: 30 minutes
  • For 4 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy recipe

  • Ingredients
  • 400 gr of clams
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 2 large potatoes
  • 100 ml of double cream
  • 1 clove of chili pepper
  • Parsley to taste
  • Salt to taste
  1. Instructions
  2. Prepare the clams. Throw away any broken clams. Allow the remaining clams to drain for at least three hours in very cold “sea water.” Sea water is made with 2 tablespoons of salt for every liter of or US quart of cold water and is mixed well until it is fully dissolved.
  3. Once the purging time is over, lightly tap every single clam on a surface or a chopping board to select the good ones from those that are only full of sand.
  4. In a pan with a ladle of boiling water cook the clams on a high heat, covering them with a lid. The clams are ready when they have the valves open – it takes just a couple of minutes of cooking for this to happen.
  5. Remove from heat and place in a bowl covered with cellophane. Place the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water to cool the shellfish.
  6. Wash, dry and finely chop the parsley.
  7. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small pieces.
  8. In a saucepan with oil, a piece of chili pepper and the clove of garlic, cook for few minutes the potatoes. Remove the garlic and chili pepper and add 1 liter of water, continuing to cook for twenty minutes until the potatoes are well cooked. Take half and blend it.
  9. Now add the liquid from the clams and the cream.
  10. Add the clams and chopped parsley, turn off the heat and let the soup rest for a few minutes.
  11. Season with salt if necessary before serving.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  • If you want to spend less, instead of clams you can use lupins. It is equally delicious.
  • If you want you can use half the water and create, instead of a soup, a perfect sauce for short pasta.