76 Easy Pressure Cooker Recipes For Beginners

Choose Your Chowder: 5 Styles Of New England's Signature Soup

Luke's Lobster in Portland serves a classic chunky clam chowder. Photo courtesy of Luke's Lobster

So renowned are we for our iconic staple, that the term "Maine chowder" has arguably become redundant. And so territorial about its foundation are we that in 1938, our state Legislature actually proposed a bill to outlaw the Manhattan version, passing an ordinance that made it illegal to include tomatoes in any chowder in Maine. (The penalty for those found guilty? They'd have to dig up a barrel of clams at high tide.) Begone, foul tomatoes, defiling our creamy swirls of virgin white!

And for the record, no: The law didn't pass. But the general sentiment remains. So don't get any ideas.

While our passion for chowder runs throughout the year, it runs particularly hot in the winter, when everything else gets particularly cold. Which leaves us only the persnickety personal preferences to debate: chunky or less chunky? Lobster or clam? Corn, crab or a mix of both? And is monkfish stew a chowder? (Technically yes, since it's dairy-based.) The debates, like chowder itself, are a winter indulgence both delicious and substantial. Here are several standouts of some favorite styles of chowder. The legal ones, that is.

Chunky clam (and gluten-free): Luke's Lobster, Portland, $10 a cup; $13 a bowlAbout as classic as classic gets, it teems with chopped clams and extra potatoes, and employs a potato flour that renders it gluten-free. To create the recipe, says co-founder and CIO Ben Conniff, "We worked with Hurricane's Soup, based out of Greene, Maine – back when Luke's opened in 2009."60 Portland Pier, Portland, 207-550-2490; 11 a.M. To 9 p.M. Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.M. To 10 p.M. Friday and Saturday. Lukeslobster.Com

Seafood chowder from Bob's in Windham. Photo courtesy of Bob's Seafood

Seafood (and gluten-free): Bob's Seafood, Windham, $13.99 for a crockIt's definitely the plump shrimp. Wait, no — it's the flaky haddock. Or is it the salty scallops and sweet lobster meat? Maybe it's the briny clams that put it over the top. Without a doubt, it's all of the above. Oh, and since it uses a flourless haddock broth as its base, it's also gluten-free.901 Roosevelt Trail, Windham, 207-893-2882; 11:30 a.M. To 9 p.M. Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 a.M. To 8 p.M. Sunday. bobsseafoodwindham.Com

Corn and crab: Scales, Portland, $8.25 a cup; $12.50 a bowlChoosing between surf and veg is a false choice question when a kitchen as adept as Scales dovetails both so swimmingly.68 Commercial St., Portland, 207-805-0444; 4:30-9:30 p.M. Sunday through Thursday, 4:30-10 p.M. Friday and Saturday. Scalesrestaurant.Com

Haddock with a twist: Batson River, Biddeford, $12Take one of chowder's standard bearers (haddock), delicately smoke it, and then hand it some serious accessories – in this case, poblano pepper and fried leeks. What you get is a bowl of this extraordinary elixir.17 Lincoln St., Biddeford, 207-815-3980; 4-9 p.M. Monday through Thursday, 4-10 p.M. Friday, 2-10 p.M. Saturday, 2-9 p.M. Sunday. Batsonriver.Com

The monkfish stew. Guenola Lefeuvre, Textured Porcelain

Monkfish stew: Maine Coast Fishermen's Association, $11.99 at Harbor Fish Market, Portland; available at markets statewide and served hot at select locationsThey call it a stew, but by all counts it's a chowder since it's cream-based. Sold at multiple markets throughout the state in 16-ounce pouches that you heat in a pot of simmering water and serve right out of the bag, it's a mighty tasty and sustainably sourced chowder that supports both the Brunswick-based Maine Coast Fishermen's Association and its Fishermen Feeding Mainers program, which donates proceeds to the food-insecure. mainecoastfishermen.Org/monkfishstew

Alexandra Hall is a longtime New England lifestyle writer who lives in Maine.

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New England Clam Chowder, Pure And Simple

New England Clam Chowder, Pure and Simple Many chowder recipes start with a roux of flour and fat. This one skips that stodgy step and lets the briny clams shine.

Total Time: 30 minutes

serves: 4

Ingredients

3½ pounds littleneck clams

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup dry white wine

¼ pound thick-cut bacon, cut into a thick dice

1 medium leek, sliced and washed

1 large Yukon Gold potato, cut into ½-inch dice

¼ celery root, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice

2 bay leaves

½ cup heavy cream

1 cup milk

½ cup crème fraîche

¼ cup minced parsley

Oyster crackers, to garnish

Directions

Scrub clams thoroughly. In a large bowl, submerge scrubbed clams in salted water so they expunge dirt from inside their shells, at least 10 minutes. Drain clams and rinse.

Heat a heavy, wide pot over medium heat. Add clams and white wine. Cover and steam just until clams open, 4-7 minutes. Set a dish beside the stove and use tongs to transfer clams to it as they pop open. Discard any clams that remain closed. Turn off heat. Remove clams from the open shells, making sure to capture all their juices in a bowl. Place shucked clams in a separate bowl and discard their shells.

Wipe pot clean and set it over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp all over, 3-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from pot and set aside. Add leeks to pot and sauté until soft, 4 minutes. Add reserved clam juices, diced potatoes and diced celery root and bay leaves, plus enough water to just cover vegetables. Bring everything to a simmer, cover pot and cook until potatoes and celery root are al dente, about 10 minutes. Stir in cream and milk.

Continue simmering until potatoes and celery root are completely tender and broth thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes more. Stir in reserved clams and any accumulated juices in the bowl along with crème fraîche. Cook until clams warm through, 1-2 minutes, and turn off heat. Add parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with oyster crackers.

Adapted from Colin Wyatt

This recipe was published in:

THE CANNY COOK: Smoked Haddock, Bean And Sweetcorn Chowder

By Eleanor Maidment

Published: 07:01 EST, 30 December 2023Updated: 07:06 EST, 30 December 2023

Don't make New Year resolutions – certainly not ones concerning what to eat. January is such a sluggish month that I think we should focus on feeding our souls as best we can.

At this time of year, food needs to be about comfort and warmth, and soup is probably what I will be consuming the most over the next few weeks. I love how nurturing a big bowl of soup can feel and I also love the process of cooking it.

While I urge you to look up Ottolenghi's curried lentil and coconut soup and Delia Smith's carrot and artichoke soup – two of my favourites – you don't really need a recipe for soup. It's more a formula of cooking and combining vegetables/meat/grains with liquid. This can be done in a multitude of ways, all with very good results. If I'm feeling particularly lazy I'll just bung a load of vegetables  in a roasting tin and cook until caramelised, then blend with stock for the easiest of soups.

Good stock is the foundation of soup- use the best you have

One thing I would suggest, though, is to use a good stock – it is the foundation of your soup, and it deserves to be the best you can stretch to.

This week's recipe is one of my go-tos. It's packed with vegetables, has protein from fish and white beans and it makes a truly soothing and satisfying meal. It also freezes well. I hope it brings you a warming start to 2024.

220g smoked haddock, £4.40; 326g can sweetcorn, 50p

400g can cannellini beans, 65p; 2 leeks, £1.28

SERVES 4

£1.71* per person

Method

Put the smoked haddock in a medium saucepan with 350ml whole milk. Set over a high heat until the milk is steaming hot with a few small bubbles on the surface. Remove from the heat and set aside for about 10 minutes, turning the fish halfway if it's not completely submerged in the milk. 

Meanwhile, halve and finely slice the leeks. Heat 1 tbsp butter and a splash of cooking oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Sweat the leeks with a pinch of salt for 5-6 minutes until soft.

Drain and rinse the cannellini beans and sweetcorn then add to the leeks along with 500ml chicken or vegetable stock. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Strain the milk into the pan with the vegetables and set the fish aside. With a stick or stand blender, whizz about two-thirds of the vegetables in their liquid with a grind of black pepper and the juice of half a lemon.

Return everything to the pan then flake in the fish (discarding any skin). Check the seasoning, add a splash of water to loosen if desired. Scatter with some chopped parsley and serve with crusty bread.

*This cost assumes you already have some basic store-cupboard ingredients. Prices taken from Asda and correct at time of going to press.

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