flipProvidence Clear Quahog Chowder
Providence Clear Quahog Chowder
Why this dish? Lovecraft was born and died in Providence, Rhode Island, and set Cthulhu and his tales on this fishing coast. The clear chowder without cream or tomato is THE emblematic Rhode Island version: a quahog clam soup served in harbor taverns, facing the Atlantic from which, in the myth, R'lyeh rises.
A clear, briny broth with chopped clams, potatoes, and smoked bacon. No cream: all the flavor comes from the clam juice and the sea. Simple, salty, deeply marine.
Mortal, you think to honor me with your steaming pot? So be it. I like that this broth keeps the frank taste of salt water, for it is in this water that I have slept for eons, beyond your paltry calendars. Render the bacon slowly, open the clams over your pot so that not a drop of the ocean is lost, and keep the broth clear as the abyss. When R'lyeh rises, your little soups will not hold me back — but tonight, serve it hot, and think of what watches beneath the waves.
- •Live quahog clams — a full bucket (heart of the dish, provide salty juice)
- •Salt pork or smoked bacon — a good piece (fat and smoky base)
- •Onions — two or three (aromatic)
- •Potatoes — a few (body of the soup)
- •Seawater or salted water — enough to cover (clear broth)
- •Pepper, thyme — to taste (seasoning)
Providence Clear Quahog Chowder
A clear, briny broth with chopped clams, potatoes, and smoked bacon. No cream: all the flavor comes from the clam juice and the sea. Simple, salty, deeply marine.
Why this dish? Lovecraft was born and died in Providence, Rhode Island, and set Cthulhu and his tales on this fishing coast. The clear chowder without cream or tomato is THE emblematic Rhode Island version: a quahog clam soup served in harbor taverns, facing the Atlantic from which, in the myth, R'lyeh rises.
Mortal, you think to honor me with your steaming pot? So be it. I like that this broth keeps the frank taste of salt water, for it is in this water that I have slept for eons, beyond your paltry calendars. Render the bacon slowly, open the clams over your pot so that not a drop of the ocean is lost, and keep the broth clear as the abyss. When R'lyeh rises, your little soups will not hold me back — but tonight, serve it hot, and think of what watches beneath the waves.
Ingredients (period version)
- Live quahog clams — a full bucket (heart of the dish, provide salty juice)
- Salt pork or smoked bacon — a good piece (fat and smoky base)
- Onions — two or three (aromatic)
- Potatoes — a few (body of the soup)
- Seawater or salted water — enough to cover (clear broth)
- Pepper, thyme — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Clams (or cockles) — 1.5 kg (main shellfish)
- Smoked bacon or salt pork — 120 g, cut into lardons (smoky fat)
- Onion — 2 medium, sliced (aromatic)
- Firm-fleshed potatoes — 500 g, diced (body)
- Light fish stock or water — 1 liter (liquid)
- Thyme, bay leaf, pepper — 1 sprig / 1 leaf / to taste (seasoning)
- Flat-leaf parsley — a few sprigs (finish)
Method
- Open the clams over high heat in a large pot with a little water; as soon as they open, remove them. Strain and reserve the juice carefully.
- Shuck, coarsely chop the meat, discard any closed shells.
- In the pot, gently render the bacon until golden.
- Add the onions, cook until soft without browning, then add the diced potatoes.
- Pour in the reserved clam juice + stock, add thyme and bay leaf. Simmer 15-20 minutes until potatoes are tender.
- Return the clam meat for just 2 minutes (or it toughens), season with pepper, sprinkle with parsley. Do not over-salt: the juice is already salty.
How it was made : In Rhode Island taverns during the 19th and early 20th centuries, chowder was cooked on the harbor in large cauldrons (the word comes from French 'chaudière'). The local version proudly distinguishes itself from Boston's by refusing cream, and from New York's by refusing tomato: a clear broth that lets the shellfish speak.
The contemporary twist : Serve in a dark stoneware bowl and top with a crumbled sheet of toasted nori: a 'from the depths' nod that enhances the marine note.
Sources : H.P. Lovecraft, 'The Call of Cthulhu', 1928 · Fannie Merritt Farmer, The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, 1896 · Imogene Wolcott, The Yankee Cook Book, 1939
Cthulhu · Charactorium
