The Chowder Soup Base

Name: The Chowder Soup Base
Yield: for about 2 quarts, to make a 2 1/2-quart chowder serving 6 to 8
Ingredients: 4 ounces (2/3 cup) diced blanched salt pork or bacon (see page 60); 1 Tbs butter; 3 cups (1 pound) sliced onions; 1 imported bay leaf; 3/4 cup crumbled “common” or pilot crackers, or 1 pressed-down cup fresh white bread crumbs (see page 46); 6 cups liquid (milk, chicken stock [page 4], fish stock [page 5], clam juices, or a combination); 3 1/2 cups (1 pound) peeled and sliced or diced boiling potatoes; Salt and freshly ground white pepper

January 24, 2012

Traditional chowders all start off with a hearty soup base of onions and potatoes, and that makes a good soup just by itself. To this fragrant base you then add chunks of fish, or clams, or corn, or whatever else seems appropriate.

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