Photo: Bar Americain Sweet Potato Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
Chowder Base:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 medium Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, roasted, peeled and pureed (with a ricer or food processor)*see Cook's Note
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 to 3 cups bottled or canned clam juice
To Finish:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into small dice
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 slices slab apple wood smoked bacon, cut into small dice
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 12 fresh littleneck clams, scrubbed
- Sweet potato chowder base
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh clams (steamers or cherrystone)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
- Cook's note: to roast sweet potatoes, preheat an oven to 375 degrees F. Roast the potatoes for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until soft.
Directions
Chowder Base:
Heat the butter in a medium saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft. Stir in the sweet potato puree and salt and pepper and cook until the puree is slightly thickened (you are making a sort of sweet potato roux). Increase the heat to high, add the wine and cook until completely reduced. Add the clam juice and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the mixture appears to be too thick, thin with a little extra clam juice or water, season with salt and pepper. Strain the mixture into a bowl and return to the pan.
To Finish:
Heat the butter in a small saute pan over medium high heat. Add the potatoes and cook until golden brown and caramelized. When the potatoes are almost cooked through, sprinkle with the sugar and toss until the sugar is dissolved and the potatoes are cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.
Heat a pan over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until golden brown and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.
Bring wine to a boil in a medium saucepan, add the clams, cover and cook until all clams open, discarding any that do not, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the clams with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl.
Bring sweet potato chowder base to a simmer. Add the cooked bacon, sweet potatoes and honey and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped clams and cook for 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream and cook an additional minute or until just heated through. Ladle into bowls and garnish each bowl with 3 clams in the shell and a sprinkling of fresh tarragon. Serve immediately.
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By mandi_dickey_89...
Santa Clara, CA
on November 01, 2011
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So, let me start by saying this was DELICIOUS! My husband who hates traditional clam chowders loved it. I only gave it 4 stars though for 2 reasons. First, you can't really taste the clams. I used 3 cups of clam juice and still could barely taste them. I felt like I splurged on buying these fresh, lovely clams and they weren't the star of the clam chowder. The star was the sweet potatoes. The 2nd reason is because I (and others found it a bit too sweet. I will definitely use the sweet potato base for a soup another time, but I will omit the honey. I did add a pinch of cayenne pepper, which everyone agreed added to the flavor of the soup and helped to bring balance to the sweetness. I also used thick cut peppered bacon and I thought the combination of the sweet potatoes, smoky bacon, and cayenne pepper was great. As I said, I will make this again, but I'm not going to spend the $$ on the clams when I can't really taste them.
By ruthie923_12926024
Richmond, 86
on June 10, 2010
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I found this to be too bacon-y and not clam-y enough. The next time I make it, I will use less bacon, more clams and more clam juice (I used about 2 1/2 c.. I could not find chopped fresh clams, so I steamed about 1.5 lb. of clams to get 1/3 c. chopped. The texture and flavor were good enough for me to try this again with some changes.
By josh_phaneuf_11...
Valencia, CA
on January 25, 2009
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I made a few changes. Instead of straining mixture, I used an emulsion blender to get a smooth and creamy texture. When I checked the soup after finishing recipe, I felt it was to sweet. I added a tablespoon of chipotle puree and a touch of lime juice. It ended up turning out great!
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