Clam Chowder

Photo courtesy of thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.ca--sorry, loaned my camera to one of my teens...

I thought I hated clam chowder when I was younger.  Of course, I had only ever tasted the canned versions which were sweet and full of corn and red pepper chunks.  Ewww.

So of course, more than a decade ago now, when visiting a friend over a lunch hour and she offered me clam chowder I said "no thank-you" as politely as possible.  But she looked me square in the eye and called me out on it, saying, "That's because you've only ever had the canned soup kind of chowder.  That stuff is pure crap.  Try this,"  And I did, because she was my friend and I was a guest and all that, and....she was right.  Her chowder was creamy but not sweet, smooth and silky and did not have a hint of corn in it.  The secret, she swore, was bacon.  Yup.  She said that it helped to mask the texture of the clams, for those who weren't used to it's slight...chewiness.  I was sold.  And, she added, don't add the actual clams until the very end, or you'll get a lot more chewiness than you can handle.  Fair enough.  Don't need to tell me twice on that one.

It took me a while to wrap my head around how I was going to make this one a little more healthy--that chowder I'd fallen in love with (and had converted the rest of my clam-chowder-hating family into loving) had both white potatoes and navy beans.  Let's just say there were some disappointing early attempts.

But the other day, when my CSA veggie box arrived with Jerusalem Artichokes, I finally had an idea...  This was going to work out after all.  And it did.  It was awesome.  (The box also included parsnips and fresh sage, so into this recipe they went...)

Ever cooked with Jerusalem Artichokes/sunchokes?  Me neither.  Never even seen them before this.  That's one of the things I love about getting a food box--you get things you have never cooked with, and you have to Google them just to know what you can do with them.

So I learned that sunchokes are related to sunflowers, that they are tubers (like potatoes are), that they can be eaten raw or cooked, peeled or unpeeled, that they are slightly sweet, mild-tasting, and waaay less starchy than potatoes.  They can be boiled and mashed, made into french fries, roasted, shredded and served in coleslaw or over salads.  But more importantly--they are full of the prebiotic inulin.  In plain English, that means that they can cause a bit of extra gas.  Yup.  So at first, a little can go a long way.  That is why I used a blend of sunchokes and cauliflower for the base of this soup.  If it weren't for that gassy side-effect, I'd say they were a perfect substitute for white potato for the starchy-carb-adverse population out there.  Don't let that one thing put you off trying them, though.  They are tasty little gnarly things.  And this is pretty awesome chowder.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and chopped
1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped small
3-4 slices bacon
3 c chicken broth
1/2 c parsnips or carrots, chopped into coins
1/2 c onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cans baby clams
1 tsp ground celery seed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs fresh sage (or 1 tsp dried)
1 c full-fat cream (can substitute coconut milk, but will effect flavour a bit)

Method:

First, chop all your veggies.  Open your can of clams.  Saute bacon until crispy.  Chop bacon into bits.

While bacon is frying, pull out your dutch oven or large heavy-bottom pot and heat it up over medium heat.  In fat of choice (I used butter), saute onions, parsnips, and celery.  When onion is translucent, transfer veggies to a plate and set aside.

Add broth and juice only from canned clams.  Add celery seed, garlic powder, and sage IF using dried sage.  Add sunchokes and cauliflower and bring to boil.  Simmer over medium heat until cauliflower and sunchokes are tender.

Use either an immersion blender to puree, or move carefully to a food processor and puree until smooth.  Return to pot, reduce heat to med-low.  Add sauteed veggies back into the pot now, add canned clams, bacon, fresh sage and cream.  Stirring frequently, heat through but do not let it come to a boil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Fermented Hot Honey Dills

I know, I know--crazy, right?  Hot and sweet.  In this case--hot peppers and honey.  Yes, they ARE fabulous together.  Especially with dill.  If you don't believe me, try it yourself.

My son keeps eating my pickles.  He doesn't know what I mean when I say "fermented".  All he knows is that they're home made, and more than a little bit spicy.  Which is good enough for me--as soon as I start to talk to my teens about beneficial bacteria and healthy gut flora, they get all grossed-out and think I've finally gone off the deep end into crazy-town.  So we'll keep that little secret to ourselves, ok?

Now, these pickles started out only a little bit spicy.  The taste is a little kick of heat at the tail end.  You could double the hot peppers in this--but be careful--the fermenting really brings out the heat in peppers, and the longer they sit in the  fridge after the initial fermentation  the hotter they become.  You might want to also increase the honey, to keep the flavour balanced.  Or not.  Up to you.

Making fermented pickles is one of the easiest things you can try to ferment.  An old pickle jar, some sea salt, a handful of spices and some cucumbers, and you're good-to-go.  It really is that easy.  I find that kosher pickles and these kinds of fermented pickles are never even close to as crunchy as, say, Bicks Pickles--you can  get SOME crunch in these pickles, but to get that store-bought pickle crunch, you'd need to add a chemical storm of ingredients, so this is the trade-off.  To get the fermented pickles as crunchy as possible, use the freshest cucumbers that you can find, slice off the blossom end of the pickle, soak in ice-water, and pickle them whole.  I don't mind my pickles just a tiny bit soft, so I sliced mine lengthwise before fermenting them.

So, for this recipe I used hot peppers that I'd already fermented several months ago.  I fermented them and then didn't have a clue what to do with them.  I meant to make sriracha sauce with them, eventually, but I didn't.  You don't have to use fermented peppers--any hot peppers  will do.  Using foods like the raw honey and fermented peppers in your pickle ferment will help act as a "starter", getting your pickles going faster, but even if you use regular peppers and regular honey, fermentation will still happen, so don't sweat it.  Pickles are pretty simple that way.  Just be patient and don't forget to taste them along the way.

Ingredients:

(for a 2L jar)

2 pkg pickling cucumbers
4 cups (1L) filtered water
3 Tbs fine sea salt
2 Tbs raw, unpasteurized honey
1 Tbs pickling spice
1/2 Tbs dried dill
3 hot peppers (I used fermented ones, but that's optional)
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar + extra for after fermentation (optional)
cabbage leaf or weight to hold down

Method:

Soak cucumbers in ice water for at least an hour.  This helps keep them crunchy after pickling.

Dissolve salt in filtered water.  Cut off both ends of cucumbers.  Slice lengthwise (or leave whole--up to you).  Add spices, hot peppers, honey, and vinegar to jar.  Arrange cucumbers in jar, packing tightly.  Pour water solution over top, making sure it covers everything.  Use cabbage leaf (or weight) to pin everything down under the saltwater solution.

Let sit on counter for 1 - 4 weeks to allow to ferment, tasting after about 5 days, until it reaches desired level of sour for your tastes.  Keep an eye out for mould.   If you are using fermented peppers, and raw honey, fermenting may go faster.  Mine only needed 6 days to reach the desired level of hot and sour that I like.

The longer they sit, the cloudier the water will turn.  They will become more sour, and more soft, the longer you let them sit.  I personally add a bit more vinegar--maybe 2 Tbs, after they're done fermenting and leave them in the fridge for 24 hours before eating.  It just adds a touch of that vinegary taste that I'm accustomed to with pickles.  They will still continue to develop flavour (spiciness and sourness) even after being moved into the fridge.

Refrigerate when done.  They should last 6 months to a year once they're in the fridge.