Food Adventures 101: Make a Slow Soup Fast

In the winter, there's nothing better than a soup that's been simmered slowly on the stove for hours, incorporating every flavor it possibly can.

In the summer, the idea of standing in front of a hot stove for that long can make most people want to crawl into an air conditioned room and recover from the very thought.

There are plenty of hot and cold soups that can be made quickly and rival those long-simmered stews, without the hassle or time consumption. The key is to choose ingredients that don't take very long to cook, and to make smaller batches of it.

In restaurants, cooks can make soup a la minute, meaning at or in the moment. I worked at a restaurant that made clam chowder to order, and here's how it was done:

Fingerling potatoes were substituted for a larger variety. Fingerlings have a similar smooth texture to new potatoes, but in fact are not, as they are fully grown when harvested. They cook significantly faster than larger potatoes, especially when sliced into coins about a 1/8 of an inch thick.

The chef used leeks instead of yellow or red onion, sliced thin as well. Leeks only need to sweat about 1-2 minutes before their aromatics are released and are ready to serve. They do require careful washing, however, as you will see if you cut one open and observe a leek's many layers where dirt can become trapped.

Steaming clams is a quick process as well, which is necessary in order to open the shells and remove the meat. The chef also saved the end broth, as it served as a the stock base for the soup.

To order, the cooks would heat and melt a small amount of butter in a saute pan, then add the leeks and fingerling potatoes. Once those had sautéed, some of the clam broth was added along with a portion of clams, then finished with salt, pepper and creme fraiche as a replacer to milk.

The soup was garnished with chives and a couple pieces of toasted baguette, along with a spoonful of garlic aioli. Variations of the soup went into effect as the seasons changed of course. You could, for example, add corn right now as it is widely available and has a short cooking time.

I love dill with clams as well, so I put dill and cayenne pepper in my chowder. Experiment as much as you like, as long as you remember this is meant to be an easy, fast soup that tastes just as great as a soup you could find dining at any middle of the road restaurant. If you can't find creme fraiche, substitute some milk and sour cream for a similar, refeshing summer chowder.

Quick Clam Chowder

Yield: 3-4 people

Note: Though the cooking will be fast, please remember that any prepping of vegetables may take longer or shorter due to your own skill level.

• 3/4 leek, the white and light green part
• 8-10 fingerling potatoes, sliced into coins 1/8 in. thick
• 1 ear corn, kernels cut off the cob
• 18-24 raw clams
• 6 white mushrooms, sliced
• 4-6 sprigs fresh dill, chopped
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 pint creme fraiche
• Salt, to taste
• White pepper, to taste

 Wash and scrub the clams thoroughly. If they are fresh, they should have no smell. Heat about 4 cups of water with the clams in it. Simmer together covered until the clam shells open, about 10 minutes. Remove the meat from the shells and save the broth hot on the stove.

Sauté the leeks, mushrooms, corn and potatoes together with the cayenne about 5 minutes. Add clam broth to the mix until they vegetables are covered by about a 1/2 in. of liquid. Simmer to cook the potatoes, about 5 minutes. Add the creme fraiche, dill and clams, then bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and serve in a bread bowl.