Corn and Clam Chowder With Zucchini and Herbs
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 8pounds chowder clams in the shell, scrubbed, (about 30 pieces), or substitute 1 pound chopped fresh clams (about 3 cups)
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2cups diced onion
- 1cup diced celery
- Salt and pepper
- 2cloves garlic, minced
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
- 1teaspoon chopped thyme
- ½cup medium yellow polenta (not fine)
- 4cups water or chicken broth
- 4cups clam broth, more as necessary
- 3cups cubed potato, preferably yellow-fleshed, like Yukon Gold
- 3cups corn kernels, from about 4 ears
- 4cups cubed zucchini or other summer squash
- 2limes, halved
- 6 to 8tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
- 3tablespoons parsley
- 1tablespoon fresh oregano or marjoram
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
687 calories; 14 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 63 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 78 grams protein; 3104 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Set up a clam steamer, or put about 2 inches of water in a large pot with a lid, place over high heat and bring to a boil.
- Step 2
Steam open clams over high heat, covered. Large clams will take about 12 minutes. When cool, shuck the clams. Strain and reserve all clam broth, leaving any sand or grit in the bottom of the pot. Chop meat roughly and set aside. To save time, do this step in advance. (If using chopped clams, skip Step 1 and 2.)
- Step 3
Put olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and celery, season generously with salt and pepper and cook until softened, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Step 4
Add garlic, red pepper and thyme. Stir and let sizzle briefly, then add polenta and stir to coat. Gradually add the water, stirring constantly with a wire whisk as mixture begins to thicken, then add clam broth and bring to a boil. It should now look brothy and just barely thickened.
- Step 5
Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, until polenta grains have softened.
- Step 6
Add potatoes to pot and simmer until just done, 12 to 15 minutes. Taste soup and adjust seasoning. Add more clam broth, if necessary.
- Step 7
Add corn and zucchini and simmer 5 minutes until zucchini is tender. Add chopped clams and cook 2 minutes more.
- Step 8
To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls. Squeeze some lime juice into each portion and top with a dollop of crème fraîche. Sprinkle with parsley and oregano.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Jim
Instead of water only, why not boil cobs in the water after kernels have been removed?
Dwight Hoyes
I make corn chowder now and then and the only way to do it is to boil the cobs and use that instead of plain water. Why waste all that flavour?
Tim Carroll
Made half the recipe and with canned clams. Topped with fresh marjoram and parsley as suggested, which gave it a nice herbal note. Instead of sour cream I added a bit of whole cream at the very end and swirled it in. Excellent. Leftovers were just as good. Definitely recommend!
Diane K. Martin
I'd love to see if anyone tries this with canned clams (and maybe half the recipe?).
Figaro
Prepared recipe with my aforementioned modifications. Love the polenta as a thickening agent. I managed to get 2 cups clam broth from the bottle and juice in cans. Everything else as per the recipe. Used whole milk Greek yogurt as topping. I loved it; husband, who is a die-hard New England clam chowder guy, was not so enthusiastic. I'm going to be eating lots of chowder for lunch. BTW, canned clams worked well; maybe not as good as fresh, but lots less work for me.
AL
I made a half recipe of this and it was delicious. I used all clam broth from the clams I steamed, and omitted creme fraiche and celery. Next time I'll add more clams!
Liz P
Awesome dish BUT it takes a lot longer to prepare than the instructions suggest. We have made it twice. We prep the clams the day before we make the body of the chowder. Consult instructions via internet on how to soak clams (in shells) to get rid of sand and debris prior to steaming. This saves time when shucking and the clams seem cleaner. But it adds 2 hours (passive - the clams just sit) to total prep time. Don’t skip the herbs and lime when serving- they add a lovely flavor.
S
Wife is not a clam fan. I subbed pan seared (just enough to caramelize) wild caught sea scallop pieces. We only added them at the end so as to keep them tender and not overcooked. I might have used whole scallops, but the pieces are just as tasty and less than half the price.
Victoria Morgan
As a New England Clam Chowder devotee, I am just going to say this. This is soup with clams and a few other things. It is NOT chowder. There is fish chowder, corn chowder and, of course, clam chowder. Any concoction that is not opaque from cream or milk is NOT chowder. It is soup. Oh, and that Manhattan pretender? NOT CHOWDER! While I might be fudging the technical definition here, I stand by mine.
mcfm
Corn cobs I pin water, bacon, cumin, polenta make it. Delicious. Lots of compliments. All fresh ingredients . Local, seasonal, A
mcfm
Cumin, polenta, mad hatter mild red pepper. Makes it.
Liz
Made mostly as written, used homemade chicken broth in freezer and added the cobs to the water as one reader suggested. It made a delicious summer chowder. I did not miss the usual cream.
meliko
Total winner in our house! Didn’t have polenta, subbed with cornmeal. Used canned clams and bottled clam juice, and made broth from the de-kernaled cobs. Added a half cup or so of cream at the end.
Katherine
One large zucchini, canned clams, frozen corn, 1 potato, and homemade chicken stock from earlier in the week. Even managed to scrounge up medium polenta from my cabinet. Halved the recipe. Used 2 cans of whole clams with the liquor. Fresh oregano from the garden for garnish. A good meal for not knowing what to make when I started out. And didn’t have to go to the grocery store. I will do this again with fresh clams and fresh corn.
Karen
I used canned clams, frozen corn, & bottled clam juice. (It's Jan.) It still came out pretty good. I'm interested in cooking this during the summer when fresh corn is available. I will try to buy fresh clams as well.
Fusun
I made this with bottled clams which were okay but the soup was just not exciting for the amount of time invested.
Leslie
Meh. The polenta didn't thicken things up the way I wanted. 3 stars.
Maxine Waber
I used frozen cooked clams, my homemade chicken broth and corn “broth” I made last summer and froze. Because I’m not running out to the store for special ingredients, I didn’t have clam broth. It still tasted great, both hot and cold. Lots of chopping/prepping time, but comes together pretty quickly and easily.
Pat Brownlie
So, so good!!! Used chicken broth only and no water. Will have to try with "corn water" instead of chicken broth as suggested by Jim. Cut the potatoes a bit and added more corn since I'm very partial to corn and used oregano, not marjoram. This will be wonderful for leftovers.
AMR
This soup was so fantastic even with canned clams. As other reviewers suggested, I tossed in the corn cobs and also added some diced Canadian back bacon for more flavor in, as well. So very good!
Maria
How the heck much soup is this recipe for? 8 lb of clams seems like a somewhat radical way to start a chowder. I'm inspired
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