How to make clam chowder – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass
I ate a lot of clam chowder in Massachusetts last summer,Thick and comfortingly creamy, it might feel a tad wintry were it not for the sweet, briny clams, which sing of sea breezes and sunshine,Though the name derives from the French chaudière, or cauldron, chowder is New England through and through, and best eaten in the fresh air, whether that’s in Cape Cod or Capel-le-Ferne,Prep 40 min Soak 20 minCook 30 min Serves 42kg live clams, or defrosted in-shell frozen clamsSalt and black pepper200g thick unsmoked bacon, or pancetta1 onion 2 medium waxy potatoes 1 bay leaf 2 tbsp plain flour 150ml double or whipping cream A knob of butterThough they’re abundant along our coastline, clams aren’t terribly popular in this country,Fishmongers and some supermarkets (eg Morrisons) often have live clams; they can also be found online, and in the freezer section of bigger supermarkets and in Asian food stores.
Unfortunately, US-style tinned clams in juice aren’t that widely available in the UK, and seeing as it’s those cooking juices that make this dish, Italian jarred clams in brine don’t really work here.To prepare the clams, discard any with broken shells and give the rest a good scrub.If using live clams, rather than frozen and defrosted ones, put them in a large bowl or sink, fill with very salty (like the sea) water and soak for at least 20 minutes to filter out any sand.Repeat if necessary, but I’ve never had to do this.Drain the clams, get rid of any grit they’ve ejected, then put them in a large bowl or sink of fresh water to expunge any excess salt while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
If you’re using defrosted frozen raw clams, give the shells a quick onceover for cleanliness and skip to step 4.Cut the bacon into smallish dice – unsmoked is traditional here, and smoked will give the dish an entirely different flavour profile.Either way, try to use thick-cut bacon, because those wafer-thin rashers increasingly favoured by supermarkets tend to disappear in soup.Peel and finely chop the onion, and wash and chop the potatoes into roughly 1cm dice (no need to peel them first, unless they’re particularly filthy).Drain the clams, then put them in a large pan with 600ml water.
Cover, bring to a boil, cook until they’re all open, then tip into a colander set over a bowl to catch the liquid.When the clams are cool enough to handle, take the meat out of the shells (discard any that remain resolutely shut tight).You probably won’t need to chop the picked clams, because those sold in this country tend to be far smaller than American ones, but roughly chop the clams if any are on the large side.Strain the clam cooking liquor through a couple of layers of paper towel (or cheesecloth), then measure it and add enough water to bring it up to 1.2 litres.
Put a medium saucepan on a medium heat, then gently fry the bacon in its own fat until it begins to render.Add the onion, fry until soft, then turn up the heat slightly.Once both the onion and bacon are beginning to colour, add the bay leaf and flour, and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes.Pour in the clam liquid bit by bit, stirring to dissolve the flour, then add the chopped potatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes, until tender.Stir in the cream, clams and butter.
Season to taste with salt, if necessary, and plenty of black pepper, then serve immediately, ideally with a large hunk of bread (or if you’re on the US west coast, in a sourdough bowl).If you’re making the soup base ahead of time, don’t add the clams (or the cream and butter, for that matter) until you reheat the base, because overcooking will make the clams rubbery (keep the meat in the fridge until needed).Similarly, if you know you’ve made too much base, freeze the excess before adding the clams and dairy to the pot (you can freeze the clam meat separately).Felicity Cloake’s new book, Peach Street to Lobster Lane: Coast to Coast in Search of Real American Cuisine, is published next week by HarperCollins at £16.99.
To order a copy for £15.29 go to guardianbookshop.com
Trump family disown debut of crypto wallet: ‘I know nothing about this project!’
A splashy website featuring an illustration of Donald Trump, looking buff and pumping his fist in the air, appeared online on Tuesday. The image is the logo of one of Trump’s digital currencies, and the website claims to be the “Official $Trump Wallet”, hawking a product that would allow customers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, primarily the president’s own.The website prominently features the name of Trump’s coin, $Trump, and invites people to join the waitlist to use the digital wallet. It was first noticed by the crypto newsletter Citation Needed. Magic Eden, an established cryptocurrency marketplace, said on the website that it had partnered with Trump’s official digital coin team to create the wallet
Peers vote to defy government over copyright threat from AI
Defiant peers have delivered an ultimatum to the government – calling on it to offer artists copyright protection against artificial intelligence companies or risk losing a key piece of legislation.The government suffered a fifth defeat in the House of Lords over controversial plans to allow the AI companies to train their models using copyrighted material.Peers voted by 221 to 116 on Wednesday to insist on an amendment to force AI companies to be transparent about what material they use to train their models.Speaking at an awards event after the vote, Elton John said copyright protection was an “existential issue” for artists and urged the government “to do the right thing”.He added: “We will not let the government forget their promise to support our creative industries
BBC and Sky bosses criticise plans to let AI firms use copyrighted material
The BBC director general and the boss of Sky have criticised proposals to let tech firms use copyright-protected work without permission, as the government promised that artificial intelligence legislation will not destroy the £125bn creative sector.The creative industry has said that original proposals published in a consultation in February to give AI companies access to creative works unless the copyright holder opts out would “scrape the value” out of the sector.Dana Strong, the group chief executive of Sky, compared the proposal to its own battles against TV piracy and said individuals and small companies would not have the experience and financial resources to protect their intellectual property.“Sky is one of the leading forces in trying to fight against piracy,” she said, speaking at the Deloitte and Enders Media and Telecoms conference.“As I look ahead to artificial intelligence, protecting copyright is a very big issue, and I think some of the consequences of the opt-out are impossible to police
Luxury Airbnbs: tell us what got you into running one, or booking a stay at one
High-quality finishes, amenities such as pools, saunas, snooker tables and firepits, or a prime location: luxury Airbnb-style rentals are on the rise, amid a skyrocketing demand for holiday stays at exclusive and often very large properties that can cost thousands per night.We’re interested to hear from both owners of luxury short-term rentals and from guests who have booked stays at them.If you own a luxury Airbnb or similar type of holiday let, tell us what made you enter this market, and how business has been. If you’ve stayed at such a property, share what your experience was like, and what drew you to booking it.Tell us what got you into running a luxury Airbnb-style rental, and what business has been like, or what got you into booking a stay at such a property
Surface Laptop 13in review: Microsoft’s cheaper, more compact Windows 11 machine
Microsoft’s latest Surface Laptop is smaller and cheaper, managing to condense most of what is great about its larger siblings into a more compact frame without compromising too much on power.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The Surface Laptop 13in joins the current seventh-generation Laptop 13
Noughties nostalgia trends on TikTok as fans revisit music and TV favourites
It is the social media platform that likes to see itself as being on the cutting edge of the latest youth culture and setting the latest trends for others to follow. But across music, television and observations on British daily life, something more familiar is trending on TikTok – a new generation of nostalgia.Music and TV from the 2000s are being rediscovered by gen X and ageing millennials, as well as being discovered for the first time by gen Z. Use of the #noughties nostalgia hashtag is up 36% on last year across entertainment content – while the era is also enjoying a revival in fashion.Sex and the City, which initially ran from 1999 to 2004, has been the subject of 108,000 videos on the site, with a doubling in videos over the past year
Contraception warning over weight-loss drugs after dozens of pregnancies
People with cancer face ‘ticking timebomb’ due to NHS staff shortages
Women and ethnic minorities less likely to be treated after diagnosis of deadly heart disease in England, study finds
Rape victims can challenge CPS if cases dropped under pilot scheme
Free school meals extended but winter fuel changes could tax dead pensioners’ families
Police investigate heart surgery patient deaths at East Yorkshire hospital