Recipe: Lillies Clam Chowder

Ingredients

3 ½ounces raw bacon, diced

3 ½ounces clarified butter

1 ½pounds yellow onion, diced ¼inch

1 pound celery, diced ¼inch

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

2 pounds potatoes, diced ½inch

7 cups chopped clams in juice

1 gallon whole milk

12 ounces Roux

1 ½tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme

1 ¼ teaspoons hot pepper sauce, such as Ashanti

1 ounce kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

1 cup half and half

½cup chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Method

In a thick bottomed stock pot, cook bacon until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel lined sheet tray and set aside for service.

Add butter to bacon drippings. Add onion, celery, and garlic and cook until the onions are tender.

Add potatoes and clams in juice bring to a simmer and cook over low until potatoes are tender. Add Worcestershire, Tabasco, thyme, salt and pepper.

Separately heat the milk until steaming. Add the roux to the milk, whisking frequently. Simmer until thickened. Stir in the half and half.

Add the thickened milk mixture to the clam mixture. Season to taste with more salt and pepper if necessary.

Serve, topped with reserved bacon and chopped parsley.

Recipe: Wild Nettle soup

Nettles can be found from spring to early summer, they are a great source of calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, cobalt, copper, potassium, trace minerals, chlorophyll, the B-complex vitamins, and more.

Not only do they benifit your health they are also good fun to harvest and cook with. Ensure you follow two simple rules when harvesting, only pick the tender tops of the nettles and more importantly ensure you wear gloves, the nettles will carry the sting until cooked, remember this when you go to chop them for the following recipe.

Ingredients
1 200g packet of smoked Pancetta
1 white onion diced
4 leaves wild garlic
4 handfuls nettles (remove all stems)
600ml vegetable stock
4 small potatoes diced
2 TBSP double cream

Method
In a little oil pan fry the Pancetta
Add the onion and fry until tender
Add the potato and garlic and cook slowly
Chop the nettles and add to the pan, add the stock also
Bring to the boil and simmer for 8 minutes
Blend with a stick blender, Sieve the soup
Add the cream and serve.