So when I mentioned my potato surplus, my mother suggested I make a chowder. I have made a bunch of plain chowders, but never a seafood one. I thought it was about time. I have been working my butt off and I had just watched the Treat yo self! episode of Parks n Rec and I felt I deserved a shot at a delicious, albeit expensive dish. It was way easier than I thought, and I have to say I am ridiculously proud of myself!

Ingredients~

1 handful pancetta (about 2 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 large white onion, diced
1/4 cup flour
3 cups clam juice
6 white potatoes, peeled and diced
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1 lb littleneck clams, scrubbed and cleaned to perfection
1 lb monkfish, cubed
1 lb rock shrimp, cleaned
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups almond milk
freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

Optional fire-roasted chile topping –
1 handful pancetta (about 2 ounces)
2 poblano peppers

Begin~

Toss the pancetta in the bottom of a stock pot and let it crisp up, then add the butter and onions and cook for about 10 minutes. Then add the flour and stir until pasty. Add the clam juice, stir, and then add the potatoes, thyme, pepper, and salt and bring to a simmer. Cook the potatoes 30 minutes or so, or until they are the consistency you prefer.

If you are doing the topping, and I recommend it, you can start now. I personally cannot get enough of my blowtorch, and so I torched the shit out of them and then put them in a pan with some pancetta to cook them the rest of the way through.

Back to the pot…Turn down the heat and add in the cream and milk and stir until well mixed, and then you can raise the heat back up to medium. Add the clams and cook for 5 minutes with the lid ON.

Then add in the monkfish and shrimp and cook for another 5-10 minutes, (lid still on) or until all clams are opened wide!

Season with more fresh ground pepper, parsley if you have some, I did not, and a sprinkle of your fire roasted chiles and pancetta! SO GOOD!

This was my very first time cooking with clams, and I really wanted to do them in the shells, I used very high quality, organic, farm raised seafood (cheap seafood turns my tummy and if you read up on it it will do the same to yours) and there was no grit in my dinner, which i was scared of. I cleaned them REALLY well though. And they were so yummy.

I cant believe I made this! And it was delicious! And not ugly at all. Whoops! haha.