Linguini with Roux-Thickened Clam Sauce

Linguini with Roux-Thickened Clam Sauce

My family has enjoyed linguini with clam sauce for many years.  We prepare it for special occasions, though those evenings usually tend to be Sundays (because…well…if you know my family, Sunday is “pasta night”).

When preparing for this blog post, I wanted to take the opportunity to fix the only problem we ever saw with the sauce: the original recipe (which doesn’t use a roux) is too watery.  And though that sauce is tasty, one feels as though they’ve missed out on a part of the sauce, unless the remaining juices are drank right off the plate.

Therefore, I endeavored to thicken the sauce, making it creamier but not losing any of its taste.  The result was excellent, though not quite perfect.  In the meal pictured below, I’d have to say that too much roux was used.  Some of the clam flavor was lost to the roux, so add it carefully when you make this dish.  If you’re used to making a thick stew or sauce with roux, add perhaps ½ to ¾ as much roux as you’d normally use.

 

To Make the Roux:

1 cup flour

1 stick butter

Heat the butter in a frying pan (I prefer cast iron) and once all the butter has melted, add the flour.  On medium heat, fry the flour until it has been cooked to a light brown (as compared to the near-white of all-purpose flour).  Stir the roux frequently to prevent burning and evenly toast the flour.  Set aside to cool for later.  Making a full cup of roux leaves you with a good deal excess, which can be saved for some future soup or stew.

To Make the Clam Sauce:

3 10 Oz Cans of Clams

2 8 Oz Bottles of Clam Juice

4-6 Cloves Garlic, Diced

2 Tbsp Parsley, Chopped

1 Tbsp Basil, Chopped

½ Stick Butter

Heat the butter in a large frying pan or small sauce pot.  The sauce is prepared in a single pot, with ingredients being added as you go.  Therefore, make sure the pan/pot you chose is large enough to hold at least 1 quart of sauce (with room to spare).

Lightly brown the garlic, basil, and parsley in butter over medium heat.  Stir frequently as the greens have a tendency to cook faster than the garlic if not stirred.

Add the bottled clam juice and the canned juice as well.  Save the clams for a bit…they were cooked enough when they were canned.  Add about a half cup of the roux and heat until the sauce is an even consistency, using a wire whisk to mix-in the roux.  Cook the sauce for at least five minutes before deciding whether to add additional roux to thicken the sauce.  And as I mentioned at the start of this post, don’t add too much.

Add the canned clams and continue to cook until hot and then simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.

Serve over linguini or fettuccini with grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.

Chicken Broth with Dumplings (куриный бульон с клецками)

This is by far my favorite Russian soup.  It’s basically chicken and chicken broth, carrots, pepper, and dumplings (flour, egg, and milk).  It’s the simplest to make, and you can eat it as a stand-alone meal or as a side dish.

Ingredients

3 Lbs. Chicken (with Bones, Possibly Skin*)

1½ Tsp. Pepper Corns

4 Large Carrots

2 Cups Flour

2 Eggs

1 Cup Milk

Salt & Pepper

*If you prefer a fattier and more flavorful soup, you can boil the skin with all other chicken pieces to prepare the broth.  Otherwise, cut excess fat away and remove the skin.

In a large stock pot, bring 1½ to 2 gallons water to a boil.  Add some salt (about 1 Tsp.) and ½ Tsp. pepper corns, followed by the chicken.  You’ll want to keep the skin and meat for flavor.  Boil for about three hours, periodically removing any of the meat fat that may foam and collect at the top surface of the broth.

Clean, peel, and slice the carrots so they’re about ¼” thick.

Once the chicken has cooked, turn the flame off, remove the chicken, and strain the broth and return to the soup pot.  Add another ½ Tsp. fresh pepper corns and some more salt, if you deem necessary (taste it).

Once the chicken has cooled sufficiently to handle, remove the meat from the skin/bones.  Tease the meat apart in strips about ¼ wide.  Return to the soup pot and turn the heat back on.

Return the broth to heat and add the carrots.  Prepare the dough for dumplings by mixing two separate batches of 1 cup flour, 1 egg, and ½ cup milk in a bowl.  Use a fork to mix it and add flour or milk, as needed, until the consistency is that of sticky bread dough.  In other terms, it should be thick enough that it takes a little effort to pull the dough out of the bowl, but not so dry that it’s not sticky.

Once the broth is boiling, dip a small teaspoon into the oil floating in the soup, then use the edge of the spoon to pinch and remove from the bowl a small piece of dough (¼ x ¼ x 1”).  Dip the spoon into the soup and give a little shake.  If the dough is not too thin or sticky, the dumpling should fall off the spoon.  Continue making dumplings until you've used both batches of dough.

Cook the soup until the carrots are soft.  Serve hot with extra pepper on the side.  I personally think that unless you have to blow your nose at the end of the meal, you haven’t added enough pepper.  But that’s me.

I hope you enjoy my favorite soup.

JK

Russian Borsch (Борщ)

Borsch is the quintessential Russian soup, and probably the best known here in America.  It’s very healthy and uses two veggies that I used to dislike: cabbage and beets.  Of course, I had not previously tried beets and therefore thought they were disgusting.  But when cooked properly, they’re a very sweet vegetable, and are even good plain.

And about cabbage, I can say this: I really hate bitter vegetables in the broccoli family (cauliflower, Brussels sprout, etc.).  But when cabbage is cooked into a Russia soup, you barely notice it’s there.  It gives some texture and vitamins to the soup, and really helps to fill you up when eating a bowl of soup as a stand-alone meal.

Served with a heaping spoonful of sour cream and fresh herbs, Borsch is one of the most colorful soups I’ve seen.  And the sour cream gives it a very smooth, creamy taste that’s hard to beat.

Ingredients:

10 Large Potatoes

3 Large (5 Small) Beets

2 Yellow Onions

2-3 Carrots, Shredded (~1.5-2 Cups)

½ Head Cabbage

3 Lbs Pork with Bones (Shoulder)

2 Tbsp Tomato Paste

3 Bay Leaves

30 Pepper Corns

1 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tbsp White Vinegar

   

Needed When Serving:

Diced Dill & Green Onions

Pepper

Sour Cream

White Vinegar

In a large soup pot (3 gallon or so), boil the meat for about two hours with 20 pepper corns and three bay leaves.  Periodically remove meat fat, which floats on the top as the meat boils.

Separately prepare the beets.  Remove the greens and small tap root, but do not peel.  Boil about 45 minutes, or until the beet is cooked through and soft.  You can check with a fork in the same way you’d check a boiled or baked potato.  I’ve also noticed that the beets may float when they’re done, but today, I had only noticed this when they had finished cooking, so I’ll pay attention next time and hopefully update this statement.

 

Shred the carrots in a food processer or a cheese grater.  Fry with the diced onions (~¼” square) in a with a little vegetable or canola oil until the onions are soft.  Add two tablespoons tomato paste and mix well.  Continue frying until the onions are very soft.  Set aside for later.

Peel and dice the potatoes into cubes about ¼ - ½” on a side.  Shred the cabbage in a food processor until the shred is finely chopped.

Once the beets have cooked, cool in cold water until they’re comfortable to handle.  Peeling is easy when the beet has been cooked properly because the skins just about fall off.  Just run your fingers along the outside of the beet until you've removed all the skins.  Chop it in half so it fits into your food processor, and then grate the beats.  You’ll probably end up with pieces that are about an inch or two long, about the diameter of spaghetti or linguine.

After the meat has finished cooking, remove the pot from the heat, remove the meat to cool, and strain the broth.  Return the broth to your soup pot and add about ten fresh pepper corns.

Once you can handle the pork, tease the bones from the meat and remove any large pieces of fat.  Since you’ve boiled the meat so thoroughly, you can simply break the meat into small strips, about 1” long and ½” wide.

Heat the shredded beets in a small sauce pot with one tablespoon sugar, two tablespoons white vinegar, and enough water to cover the beets.  Simmer the mixture for about 15 minutes on low heat before adding to the broth.  I’m guessing the vinegar helps break down the beet further, releasing more of the internal juice.  Then again, I could be completely wrong, and when I asked Anastasia about the purpose of this step, she shrugged and said, “I don’t know.  Maybe to make it softer and sweeter?  It’s what my mom does.”  

Add all ingredients to the broth.  Cook the soup until the potatoes are cooked-through.

Dice some green onions (scallions) and dill, but don’t add to the whole batch of soup.  You’ll want to keep this garnish fresh, so just add it to each bowl of soup as you serve it.  And with all Russian soups, remember that it’s typical to prepare a large pot of soup and then reheat small batches during the week.

For this and most Russian soups, a proper table setup always includes fresh flowers to please the ladies, lots of sour cream, and shakers of salt and pepper.  If you have a mortar & pestle, you may consider grinding the pepper to a fine pepper, as it provides even more peppery flavor to your soup.

Each diner should add a heaping spoonful of sour cream to his/her soup, followed by some salt and pepper to taste.  Mix the soup well before you enjoy your creation.

Eat well.

JK

Soup Solyanka (Солянка)

I love soups. I can eat soup any time of day and for any season. It's a good thing that now Jeremy is so into that as well. He travelled to Russia a lot, and has tried my family's cooking over the years. Now he asks me to make him different soups. One of them is called Solyanka, Солянка in Russian.

This soup contains lots of meat, some vegetables, and spices. Be prepared: it takes quit some time to make it. But in the end, it's worth it.

Ingredients


Pork (with bones, e.g. Pork Chops or Shoulder) 3 Lbs/ 1,3-1,5 Kgs
Smoked Pork Sausage/Kielbassa or Smoked Ham 0,5 Lbs/ 200-250 g
Hot Dogs (8-10) or Bologna 1 Lb/ 0,5 Kgs
Dill Pickels 4-5
Onions 2
Salt 1 Tbsp
Potatoes 8
Tomato Paste 1 Tbsp
Bay Leaves and Pepper
Oil




Preparation


In a large pot, boil 2 gallons water (8-10 Liters), add pork (with bones) and salt to make a meat broth. Boil for 2 hours, periodically removing the frothy meat fat that collects on the top of the water.

While the meat is cooking, you'll have time to prepare all other products.












Meanwhile, prepare meats/vegetables, but don't begin cooking them until the broth is about 45 minutes from being done.







Cut dill pickles into small cubes, about 1/2" (1 cm) to a side. Add to a separate pot with some water and pickle juice that almost covers the diced pickles. Later, you'll boil the pickles about an hour to soften them, adding water so that it covers the pickles.

Dice the onions small and fry in a pan until soft and lightly browned. This only takes about a half hour so don't start too early. Add the tomato paste and a little water to mix everything together.













Cut the remaining meats into small cubes, about 1/2" (1 cm)  on a side. Fry smoked sausage a little while to draw out some fat and cook it a bit.






Peel and cut the potatoes into large pieces, about 1-1,5" (2-3 cm) on a side. Fry in a pan until lightly browned. It's not necessary to fully cook the potatoes now, because they'll be boiled in the soup later.

When the meat has finished cooking, remove the meat and cool. Separately, strain the broth to remove any chunks. I always do that because it makes the broth so clear, leaving it without any small bones or other things coming out from meat. Return the broth to its pot.

Once the pork has cooled enough to handle, use your hands to pull the meat off the bones, removing the fat, and then break the meat into small pieces that average 1" (2-3 cm) on a side.

At this point, everything you've cooked, including the onions and tomato paste, potatoes, pickles (with juice), and meat can be added back to the soup. Boil the soup until the potatoes and hot dogs/bologna are fully cooked.



Serve hot with a lemon slice and olive for flavor. Add a heaping spoonful of sour cream, mix it in well and add some pepper to taste.










Once again, one of my favorites.

Have a great day!


Anastasia Kalashnikova

New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients

30-40 Fresh Clams (The More, The Better)

2-3 Cups Reserved Clam Juice

3 Slices Bacon, Diced (Uncooked)

½ Onion (Red and/or Yellow)

3-4 Tbsp Flour

2 Potatoes

1½ Cups Milk

2 Tbsp Butter

1 Tsp Oregano

1 Tsp Dill (Finely Chopped, More For Garnish)

1 Tsp Parsley

3 Bay Leaves

Salt & Pepper to Taste (~½ - 1 Tsp Each)

This menu idea started in San Francisco (far from New England, of course) where Anastasia tried her first American clam chowder in 2008.  More recently, she and I had some San Francisco-style chowder on Pier 39.  It was served in sourdough bread bowls and tasted amazing.  And now, during our current trip to Block Island, I finally had the chance to show Ana the “art” of digging for clams.

We went to the one of the two best places I know to find clams…near Cormorant Cove on the road that runs to the Coast Guard Station.  It was Ana’s first attempt at clamming, and because she didn’t yet have a license…I did most of the digging.  She did try her hand at digging for a few moments, but luckily got tired of the physical labor just minutes before the shellfish warden paid us a visit and asked to see my license.  What lucky timing.

Ana spent most of the rest of the time splashing around in the sandy-muck, outlining areas that she insisted would be good for finding clams.  She said she “felt” them…and I imagined she was using her feet much in the way that robins and other birds use their fee to “feel” the worms in the ground.  Strangely, she was often right.  Of course, the entire flat was a clamming bed, and she could have told me to dig anywhere, and we would have found at least a few clams.

A storm was coming…and we fully intended to only find about 20 clams.  Besides, Ana gets cold easily and I knew we wouldn’t be out for long.  We got our small number of clams and left just in time…a heavy downpour started about ten minutes after we left.

The Clams

Of course, the best way to make clam chowder is to find (or buy) fresh clams still in their shells.  If you can do this…steam them in a pot with a little water to provide the initial steam.  Once they’ve all opened (5-10 minutes), save the clam juice, remove the clam meat from their shells, and set aside for later.  Also throw away any clams that don’t naturally open on their own after they’ve been cooked.  They could be unhealthy to eat…and is one clam really worth the risk?

If you can’t get fresh clams, a 16oz can should be enough…but feel free to indulge.

The Potatoes

For our small batch of chowder, we used two potatoes, which had been cut into cubes about ½” on a side.  In a small pot, boil the diced potatoes with the bay leaves in the clam juice you’ve just saved.  Depending on how many clams you used and how much water you initially added, you may need to use water to adjust the total volume of clam juice.  We boiled the potatoes in about 1 cup clam juice and 1 cup water (2 cups of “clam juice” total).

Cook the potatoes about halfway.  You don’t want them to be completely cooked, because you run the risk of them turning to mush later.

The Bacon, Spices, Onion, and Roux

While the potatoes are-a-cookin’, add the butter, bacon, onion, oregano, and parsley in a frying pan.  Your goal here is similarly to not fully cook the onions, and so, you should aim for a soft, but not browned, onion.

When you’ve deemed your onions cooked, add the flower – slowly – while stirring the fry mixture.  The 3-4 Tbsp estimate is just that…a guess.  When I cook, my goal is to add enough flour to soak up the oils/fats that are in the pan.  In this case, you need enough to make a roux from the butter and bacon fat you have in the frying pan.

And I don’t know what my sister, the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) graduate would say, but if you’ve never made a roux, I’ve found it best when the final mixture is still oily, but thick enough that as the flour fries, the bubbles are firm enough to pop and then remain for a few seconds afterwards.  Another indicator to me is that I’ve added enough flour so as to eliminate all standing oils, which have been entirely incorporated into the roux.

By the way…I should have mentioned earlier…if you’ve never made a roux, it’s a toasted flour mixture with oil/fat that adds flavor (toasted flour flavor) and thickens your cooking.  The darker you toast the flour, the more flavorful the roux.

Putting-it-Together

Decant the clam juice from the potatoes…

OK…sorry…that’s a term I use frequently in lab and I figured I’d use it here…basically…pour off the clam juice leaving the bay leaves and potatoes behind.

…and add the juice to the roux-onion mixture.  Mix well and then add the mixture to a pot.  This could be the same pot as the one you cooked the potatoes, but again…you’re trying to control how much you cook the potatoes…so set them aside for a few more minutes.

Add to your chowder the milk, salt/pepper, and dill.  Heat to a low simmer and then add your potatoes back in.  Cook for a little while…then add your clams (chopped) in.  The chowder is ready when the potatoes are cooked to taste.

Bread Bowls

If we experiment with other types of bread bowls in the future, a link will appear right below this sentence.

For now, I needed to make a quick bread bowl and so bought frozen white bread dough from the store, thawed one, split it in half, formed each piece into a ball, added some oregano, salt, and parsley as seasoning, and let the dough rise for an hour before baking at 350 degrees until fully baked.  Nothing special. When done, the top crust was cut out and the fluffy bread inside was pushed down to make the bowl more waterproof.

Separately, I tried the following recipe, though didn’t get the chance to use it as a bread bowl.  Anastasia and I did, however, get the chance to try this bread the next night with pulled pork barbecue, which incidentally will be a future blog post...so stay tuned.

1 Loaf White Bread Dough, Thawed

¼ Red Onion, Finely Diced

2 Tbsp Chopped, Fresh Dill

1 Tsp Garlic Powder

3 Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Mix all these ingredients, knead the dough a bit, and then form into balls.  Let rise for about two hours (or as desired) and then bake until fully cooked.

Other Ideas

Use more bacon!

Add red pepper flakes to the clam chowder for a little extra kick.  But don’t add too much because you don’t want the heat of the pepper to overcome all the other flavors…especially the bacon.

Enjoy!

JK