Creamless Corn and Clam Chowder with Crispy Chorizo
Creamless Corn and Clam Chowder with Crispy Chorizo is incredible. It’s a chowder that is layered with lots of flavor and comes together in less than 30 minutes (yes!). An extra bonus is the creamy texture without using any cream!
Jump to RecipeIngredients
Organize and prep the corn kernels, litttleneck clams, chicken chorizo, onion, garlic, smoked paprika, lime and cilantro.
Cooking the Chicken Chorizo
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add chorizo and cook, breaking up into smaller pieces with a spoon or spatula and stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in paprika and stir to combine, then scrape chorizo and oil into a small bowl. Set aside.
Cooking the Chowder Base
Pour remaining 2 tablespoons oil into same pot and set over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often until softened but not browned, 10–12 minutes.
Steaming the Littleneck Clams
Add clams and toss to combine. Cover pot and cook until clams open, 5–7 minutes. Transfer opened clams to a bowl, leaving liquid behind in the pot.* Tent bowl with foil to keep the clams warm.
*If any clams are still closed, cover pot again and cook remaining clams until opened, about 4 minutes more. Discard any that have not opened at this point.
Final Steps
Pour 3 cups water into the same pot, cover, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Then add corn kernels, cover, and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove pot from heat and purée 3/4 of the chowder in a blender until very smooth, approx. 45 seconds. When blending hot liquids, it’s very important to allow air circulation in the blender. To do this, remove the middle part of the blender lid and then cover the opening with a clean dish towel that you don’t mind dirtying. This also prevents soup from splattering all over the kitchen! Return purée to pot and mix well. (Or use an immersion blender if you have one and blend directly in the pot until you’ve blended about 3/4 of the chowder.) Squeeze in lime juice; taste and season with more salt if needed.
Creamless Corn and Clam Chowder with Crispy Chorizo
Divide chowder among shallow bowls and add clams. Spoon chorizo and chorizo oil over and scatter some cilantro on top.
Creamless Corn and Clam Chowder with Crispy Chorizo
Equipment
- Blender or Immersion Blender
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil divided
- 4 oz. fresh chicken chorizo (one large sausage) preferably Mexican, casing removed
- 1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika or smoked paprika if you only have plain paprika, use that
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 24 littleneck clams about 2 lb., scrubbed, rinsed thoroughly and all sand removed
- 4 ears of corn kernels removed (about 4 cups) or 2 cans (approx. 16 ounces each) of sweet corn kernels, drained with liquid reserved for use in the broth, frozen corn can also be used (thaw & drain)
- 1/2 lime squeezed
- Kosher salt
- cilantro leaves with tender stems for serving
Instructions
- Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add chorizo and cook, breaking up into smaller pieces with a spoon or spatula and stir occasionally until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in paprika and stir to combine, then scrape chorizo and oil into a small bowl. Set aside.
- Pour remaining 2 tablespoons oil into same pot and set over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often until softened but not browned, 10–12 minutes.
- Add clams and toss to combine. Cover pot and cook until clams open, 5–7 minutes. Transfer opened clams to a bowl, leaving liquid behind in the pot.* Tent bowl with foil to keep the clams warm.*If any clams are still closed, cover pot again and cook remaining clams until opened, about 4 minutes more. Discard any that have not opened at this point.
- Pour 3 cups water into the same pot, cover, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Then add corn kernels, cover, and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove pot from heat and purée 3/4 of the chowder in a blender until very smooth, approx. 45 seconds. When blending hot liquids, it's very important to allow air circulation in the blender. To do this, remove the middle part of the blender lid and then cover the opening with a clean dish towel that you don’t mind dirtying. This also prevents soup from splattering all over the kitchen! Return purée to pot and mix well. (Or use an immersion blender if you have one and blend directly in the pot until you’ve blended about 3/4 of the chowder.) Squeeze in lime juice; taste and season with more salt if needed.
- Divide chowder among shallow bowls and add clams. Spoon chorizo and chorizo oil over and scatter some cilantro on top.
Notes
Recipe is from Bon Appetit and slightly modified by me.
If you like this recipe, you may also like these other GFchow recipes. Tomato Fish Chowder with Fresh Herbs and Lime, Asparagus and Pea Soup with Poached Eggs, and Clams with Tomato Broth and Gluten Free Spaghetti.
GLUTEN FREE DISCLAIMER
The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.
