I came across this summer stew on Food52's website a couple summers ago when I was living in San Francisco. I had just moved and expected a California summer, complete with flip-flops and trips to the beach. Cut to me, huddled by our electric fire in a frigid apartment as rain pelted the windows. But the produce at the farmer's market said otherwise — what I needed was a stew. This fit the bill perfectly, and has become my go-to for summer dinners. The only pain is cutting the corn off the cobs, but once that's done, it comes together in 15 minutes. With a hint of smoke from the bacon, sweet tomatoes, corn, and briney clams it's insta-summer, no sun required —Sophie Brickman, 29, senior editor Saveur magazine, New York, NY
1. You will need:
olive oil
bacon
sweet smoked paprika
corn
salt
cherry tomatoes
one lemon
bourbon
littleneck clams
country bread
basil
Get the amounts for each ingredient in the full recipe on food52.
2. Cut the bacon into small strips.
3. Cut the corn kernels off of about 6 cobs.
4. Slice tomatoes in half.
5. In a big heavy soup pot that you plan to serve your soup out of, cook bacon until it's brown.
6.
7. Add paprika.
8. Stir it in and cook for about 30 seconds.
9. Add the corn kernels.
10. Season with salt.
11. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.
12. Add the tomatoes.
13. Cover and cook about 5 minutes, until the tomatoes soften.
14. Squeeze in some lemon juice.
15. Add bourbon and stir.
16. Turn off the heat and nestle the clams in with their mouths facing up. Put heat back on medium, cover, and cook til clams open — anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.
17. While clams are cooking, grill or toast the bread.
18. They're done!
19. Take the pot off the heat and sprinkle with basil.
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