WhatS The Best Clam Chowder?
Yield: 4 Servings Ingredients ————————BY MARK BITTMAN——————————- Instructions Answer: One Made With The Proper Clams Clam chowder takes many guises: it can be complicated with bacon or other strong flavors or thickened with flour or loads of cream. But the best clam chowder is a simple affair that has as its flavorful essence the juice of the clams themselves. And as long as you begin with fresh clams, this juice is easily extracted and reserved; the minced clam meat, which remains tender, becomes a garnish. As for added flavors, onion and garlic are welcome, although only the onion, I think, is essential. Diced potatoes add body to the soup. And I confess that I like finishing the chowder with a little cream — or at least milk — for both color and a certain silkiness. Of course, what is actually “essential” in clam chowder is debatable: Manhattanites, in theory at least, prefer theirs with tomatoes. New Englanders, we assume, like it with cream. T
