I’ve mentioned before that my culinary heritage is that of New England. The regional cuisine is based largely upon seafood and local vegetables. While somewhat experimental with the spicing, it’s not like other regions where hot, spicy flavors dominate the cooking. My mom was a very typical cook with New England sensibilities. Every once in a while she would break out a new recipe, but the old standards were always there. Meatloaf, home made spaghetti sauce, fresh pan seared trout (my dad and I used to do a lot of fishing when I was younger), and of course, the clam cakes and chowder (it’s spelled chowder but it is pronounced chowdah. No kidding.) that made up part of our Fourth of July celebrations.
Somewhere along the line and I’m not really sure where, I developed a penchant for spicy. I mean hurt you, melt your tongue with chemical burns, spicy. I’ve since taken a step back from that precipice, but I still like a bit of kick to my food. That desire has led me to explore the culinary traditions of the American Southwest and Cajun cultures, both of which are noted for their use of hot peppers and spice.
At this point, you must be asking yourself exactly what does one have to do with another? Well, I’ll get there, just be patient a little while longer.
My mom and her sister always made the clam chowder for the Fourth, but they always made a clear broth variety. This is sometimes referred to as a Rhode Island style. Manhattan style has the addition of tomatoes to the broth, something the Rhode Island style does not have. Then of course, there is the traditional New England style that has no tomatoes, but butter and cream as part of the broth. I am rather partial to the New England style but I either had to order it at a restaurant or make it myself if I wanted it.
That being said, I was super stoked when I found out that Paul Prudhomme had a recipe for Cajun Oyster Stew in his Louisiana Kitchen cookbook. You see, I’ve developed a penchant for oysters as well. I just love them on a half shell with either my own cocktail sauce, or with a sweetened peppered vodka on top and Oyster Po Boys are always a nice lunch. So I just had to make the recipe I found in his book. What I discovered, is that this is very similar to the broth of a New England style clam chowder without the potatoes and with a bit of a Cajun kick. Therefore, I had to give it a go and swap out the oysters with whole baby clams and see what happened.
The results were fantastic to say the least. The whole baby clams are slightly sweeter than the oysters and this helps to balance out the heat from the ground peppers in the stew. It also isn’t as heavy as a traditional New England Clam Chowder as it doesn’t have the potatoes and celery that sometimes can be found lurking in the depths of the cream. This is an excellent way to showcase a marriage of those things both North and South.
Whole Baby Clam Stew
2 cans (10 oz size) whole baby clams, drained (reserve liquid)
¼ lb (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped celery
½ cup finely chopped green onions
½ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp white pepper
¼ tsp salt
2 cups heavy cream
In a 4 quart sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the celery, spices and ¾ cup of the clam liquid. Cook over medium high heat for three minutes, stirring constantly. Add the remaining ½ cup of clam liquid (if there isn’t enough liquid, add cold water to make ½ cup) and continue cooking for 1 minute. Stir in the green onions. Gradually add the cream, whisking constantly. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the clams whisking almost constantly. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the clams are heated through. Remove from heat and serve immediately, stirring well as you ladle out the portions. Makes 4 main course or 8 appetizer sized servings.
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