The Great American Slow Cooker Book (23 page)

1
Fry the bacon in a very large skillet set over medium heat, turning occasionally, until very crisp, between 4 and 8 minutes. Transfer the strips to a paper-towel–lined plate.

2
Fry the onion and celery in the bacon fat, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, between 3 and 7 minutes. Scrape the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker.

3
Blot the bacon dry with paper towels, then crumble it into the cooker. Stir in the potatoes, broth, and clam juice.

4
Whisk the evaporated milk and flour in a large bowl until the flour is completely dissolved; stir into the slow cooker. Stir in the thyme and red pepper flakes (if using).

5
Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 7 hours, or until the potatoes are tender. Add the clams and continue cooking on low for 1 hour, or until the flavors have blended and the clams are tender.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Creamy and rich, here’s the celebrated coastal soup, a summertime favorite from Connecticut to Maine. By using evaporated milk and less flour, we guard against any chance that it might become wallpaper paste.

•
New England clam chowder is traditionally not spicy. That said, we’re not New Englanders (we just happen to live there), so we add red pepper flakes for pop.

•
Oh, for good shellfish stock! You can
make your own
, you can search out shellfish
demi-glace
at higher-end markets, or you can use clam juice, the bottles often shelved near the canned tuna or the chili sauce and other spicy condiments in supermarkets.

1
Set the shrimp in a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate. Place the shells in the slow cooker along with the leeks, carrots, celery, orange zest, thyme, tarragon, and bay leaves. Whisk the brandy and tomato paste in a small bowl until smooth, then stir into the other ingredients until everything’s well coated. Pour in enough water to cover everything.

2
Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 hours, or until the soup is very fragrant.

3
Strain the soup into a large bowl through a fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with cheesecloth. Pour the soup back in the cooker; discard all the solids. Cover and set the cooker on high heat.

4
Whisk the cream and flour in a bowl until all the flour has dissolved. Whisk this mixture into the soup. Stir in the shrimp; cover and continue cooking on high for 20 minutes, or until the soup is thickened and the shrimp are pink and firm.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
We have a lot of recipes in this book that won’t win the authenticity awards. But not this one! It’s a rich, creamy bisque, a New Orleans favorite.

•
There is no substitute for using the shrimp shells, which are essential for a flavorful and aromatic soup.

•
If you use a large piece of cheesecloth to line a colander, you’ll need to hold it in place while you strain the soup. Ladle the soup into it in small batches for better control.

ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
A fine-mesh sieve comes in handy in the kitchen; after all, many of these vegetable bits would slip through a standard colander. If you don’t have such a sieve, line a colander with a single layer of sturdy paper towels. A conical sieve is called a
chinoise
(
sheen-WAHZ)
, originally named in less PC times because of its resemblance to a Chinese hat.

1
Remove the lobster tails from their shells. Chop the meat, set it in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

2
Set the shells in the slow cooker. Add the broth, tomatoes, clam juice, leeks, sage, thyme, nutmeg, allspice, and cayenne. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.

3
Turn the cooker to high heat. Use tongs to remove the lobster shells from the soup; discard them. Stir in the cream. Puree the soup either by using an immersion blender right
in the slow cooker or by ladling the soup in batches into a large blender, covering, and blending until smooth, all before pouring it back into the slow cooker.

4
Stir in the lobster meat. Cover and cook on high for 20 minutes, or until the lobster is cooked through.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Here, we don’t need a thickener since all the vegetables add their heft to the soup. The results aren’t as creamy smooth as
Shrimp Bisque
but certainly brighter.

•
In many recipes, you can use the pale green parts of the leek as well as the white bits. However, those green leaves will turn the bisque a lurid color once it’s pureed. If wasting parts of the leek bothers you, substitute a diced sweet onion, such as a Vidalia, for a less complex flavor.

1
Combine the broth, clam juice, tomatoes, carrots, onion, rice, lemon zest, and tarragon in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or until the rice and vegetables are very soft.

2
Discard the tarragon sprigs; maintain the cooker’s heat. Puree the soup: use an immersion blender in the slow cooker; or ladle the soup into a large blender, in batches as necessary, cover, and blend until smooth before pouring it back into the slow cooker.

3
Chunk the fish fillets into serving-size pieces and set them in the soup. Cover and cook on high for 20 to 30 minutes, until the fish flakes when scraped with a fork.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
The rice thickens the puree, creating a creamy soup with no dairy in sight.

•
This soup does not freeze well—or even store well in the refrigerator. Plan on having a crowd for dinner if you’re working with a large slow cooker.

1
Stir the broth, onions, garlic, cilantro, jalapeños, and cloves in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.

2
Use a slotted spoon to remove and discard all the solids in the soup. Stir in the shrimp, lime juice, and salt. Cover and continue cooking on low for 20 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink and firm.

TESTERS’ NOTES

•
Based on a rather well-known soup from the Yucatán peninsula, this sour bowlful is a bright spark on a chilly evening.

•
For even more shrimpy flavor, cook the shells in the soup for the first 4 hours. Strain these out as well.