Steamed Clams with Wine & Chorizo salt

This savory recipe is from one of our most adored salt supporters, Ms. Diehl. Thank you(!) for sharing, Helen.

Yield: Makes 2 servings

Active time: 20 min, start to finish: 35 min

Serve these clams with some crusty bread for sopping up the sauce, or spoon them over linguine or rice.

Ingredients:

- 1 medium onion
- chopped 1 yellow bell pepper
- chopped 1 garlic clove, minced (Helen used MORE, of course!)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds*
- Chorizo salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 lb littleneck clams (2 inches wide), scrubbed
- 1/4 lb dried Spanish chorizo links, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

Preparation:

1. Cook onion, bell pepper, garlic, cumin, and salt in oil in a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, 7 to 9 minutes. Stir in wine and bring to a boil.

2. Add clams and chorizo, then boil, covered, until clams open, 7 to 8 minutes. (Discard any clams that are not open after 9 minutes.) Season with pepper and stir in cilantro.

* If you don't have cumin seeds, Helen used ground cumin as an agreeable substitute.

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Chorizo Potato Soup

Players:

- 5 large potatoes, any variety
- 1 (3- to 4-ounce) link of Spanish chorizo (or bacon)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 medium onion, chopped fine
- 6 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 lemon (freshly squeezed juice)
- 1 tsp Hunan red chili sauce (or any hot sauce, chili pepper flakes, etc)
- 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- sour cream to garnish (1 tbs for each portion)

Recipe:
1. Wash and scrub potatoes well and knick out eyes and dark spots. Do not peel. Dice into cubes and place with chicken stock in a heavy 3 quart saucepan. Cover and cook at medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook covered until potatoes are tender but not mushy, about 25-30 minutes.

2. Saute onions with olive oil in large saucepan until tender and caramelized. Add garlic and saute until it browns. Add milk and cream. Cook mixture over medium heat until near boiling.

3. Saute chorizo in separate pan with olive oil until it takes on a golden brown hue.

4. Add chorizo, onions, and milk to potato saucepan. Add 1 tsp hunan chili sauce and lemon juice to soup. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30-45 minutes.

5. Before serving, garnish individual portions with a dollop of sour cream. Sprinkle 2-3 tsp or desired amount of Chorizo salt atop sour cream.