Canadian
Seraphina’s Nova Scotia Clam Chowder
A rich white chowder with red potatoes, clam juice, cream, milk, clams, lobster, corn and baby shrimp. This is one of Sarah’s party staples, which explains why the recipe reads less like soup and more like the Atlantic Ocean got invited to potluck.
What It Is
This is a thick cream-based seafood chowder using bacon fat, onion, potatoes, clam juice, heavy cream, milk, clams, lobster, corn and shrimp.
Origin
Creamy clam chowders are strongly associated with New England and Atlantic coastal cooking. This particular seafood-heavy version is Sarah’s Dinner by the Minute recipe framed around Nova Scotia.
Fun Fact
Canadian and American lobsters sold from the Atlantic coast are generally the same species, Homarus americanus. Differences in texture and shell hardness are influenced by season, water temperature and moulting stage rather than nationality.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp rendered bacon fat
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 2 lb red potatoes, peeled and diced ½ inch
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 cups clam juice
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 2½ cups milk
- 1–3 cups drained canned clams
- 1 cup Atlantic lobster
- 1 cup corn
- 2 cups baby shrimp
- Parsley, for garnish
Steps
- Heat bacon fat in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 6 minutes.
- Add potatoes, salt and pepper and stir to coat. Add clam juice, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered until potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes.
- Remove about 1½ cups potatoes and blend with the heavy cream until smooth. Stir back into the pot with thyme.
- Add milk until the chowder reaches your preferred consistency. Heat until steaming but avoid a hard boil.
- Add clams, lobster, corn and shrimp and warm through gently.
- Taste for seasoning and garnish with parsley.
Notes
The source specifically says the thick potato-cream base can be made 1–2 days ahead and frozen. Add milk and seafood when reheating for best texture.
Substitutions
Use only clams if lobster and shrimp are unavailable. Replace some cream with milk for a lighter chowder. Add haddock or scallops. For maximum decadence, keep all three seafood options and stop asking nutritional questions.
Storage
Refrigerate promptly in a sealed container and eat within 2 days because of the seafood and dairy.
Freezing
The potato-and-cream base can be frozen before the final seafood and milk are added, as noted in the source. Fully finished dairy chowder may separate after thawing.