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Clam Broth, Chantilly
Place fifteen freshly opened clams with their own liquor in a saucepan with one quart water, two branches soup celery and two saltspoons cayenne pepper. Set on fire and as soon as it comes to a boil skim froth from surface, boil five minutes, remove, strain through a damp double cheesecloth into six cups, but fill the cups only to three-quarters their height. Beat one and a half gills thick cream to a stiff froth, evenly spread it over the six cups of clam broth and serve, either hot or cold.
A clear clam broth capped with unsweetened whipped cream — the "Chantilly" of the title. It comes together in under fifteen minutes, and the only real skill is in the straining.
- The clamsFifteen freshly opened clams with every drop of their liquor. The recipe names no variety; hard-shell clams such as littlenecks or cherrystones suit a clear broth. Ask the fishmonger to open them over a bowl, or open them yourself and strain the liquor separately — grit in the liquor will end up in the cup.
- Soup celeryTwo "branches" means two stalks. "Soup celery" in cookbooks of this period usually meant coarser green celery or celery tops kept for the pot rather than the pale inner heart. Leave the leaves on; they contribute a good deal of the flavour.
- Cayenne, measuredA saltspoon is a quarter teaspoon, so two is half a teaspoon of cayenne in a quart of broth. That is aggressive by current taste; start with a quarter teaspoon and correct at the end, since the cream on top mutes but does not erase the heat.
- GillsA gill is half a cup, so one and a half gills of cream is three-quarters of a cup. Whipped stiff, that is just enough to blanket six cups generously.
- Five minutes and no moreThe timing is the hinge. Clams toughen and the broth turns muddy with longer cooking; five minutes at a bare boil after skimming is what extracts the sweetness without cooking it away. Skim carefully — the grey froth is what keeps the broth from being clear.
- StrainingDampening the cheesecloth matters: dry cloth absorbs broth and sheds lint. Wet it, wring it hard, and double it. Let the broth drip rather than pressing it through.
- No salt is called forClam liquor is already saline and the quantity varies with the clams. Taste after straining and salt only if it needs it.
- ServingSix cups is six modest servings, meant as a first course or a between-course restorative rather than a bowl of soup. Bouillon cups or teacups are the right vessel; the three-quarters fill leaves room for the cream. Served cold, chill the broth thoroughly first and add the cream just before it goes to table, or it will slump.
"Chantilly" attached to cream conventionally means sweetened whipped cream, though in savoury dishes such as this one it is used for whipped cream without sugar — the name is traditionally attached to the Château de Chantilly and its kitchens under the Bourbon-Condé household, though the link is culinary folklore rather than documented fact. Grafting it onto clam broth is pure American hotel cooking of the period: Alexander Filippini spent much of his career at Delmonico's in New York, where a French name and a French garnish could dignify a native shellfish. Clam broth itself was widespread in turn-of-the-century America, sold hot at oyster bars and hotel counters and pressed on invalids as a strengthening drink, much as beef tea was; bottled clam bouillon was on the market commercially by around 1900. Capping it with unsweetened whipped cream turned a health tonic into something a dining room could charge for.