Here’s the promised clam chowder recipe. Let me know what you think. (Polianthus and FD, are you reading?)
Clam Chowder
3 strips bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces (if you don’t want to use bacon, then just start with 2 tbsp butter)
1 tbsp butter
2 stalks celery, diced (about 1 cup)
1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp flour
2 1/2 cups chicken broth (or half broth + half clam juice to make up that amount)
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 cans chopped clams, with the juice
1 cup half & half (or cream)
Fresh herbs (I used thyme & chives, about 2 tsp each)
Salt & pepper, as needed
1. In a soup pot, cook bacon til crisp. Remove and drain on paper towel, reserve for later.
2. Remove fat left by the bacon except for 1 tbsp, add 1 tbsp butter.
3. Sauté onion and celery until nicely tender, add garlic, sauté a minute longer.
4. Sprinkle flour and stir for another minute.
5. Add chicken broth and clam juice (if using), and potatoes. Heat to boiling, then simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 – 20 minutes. Stir soup often, to prevent sticking or burning. *See note
6. Add clams and cook just until clams are heated through.
7. Add chopped thyme and chives, salt & pepper as needed.
8. Add half and half or cream.
9. Heat through. Do not boil.
10. Serve with crisp bacon and/or oyster crackers on top.
*Note: At this point, the soup is on the thin side. If you’d like a thicker soup, you have the following options to do:
1. My favorite method, and is also a good one if you’re on a gluten-free diet (foregoing the initial flour as well.) Once the potatoes are tender, while stirring, pick up a few pieces of potatoes with the back of the spoon and mash them against the sides of the pot. Do it a few times, until soup thickens.
2. Make a slurry of flour and milk. 1 part flour to 2 parts milk. Add to soup until a desired consistency is reached. When using this method, make sure you cook the soup until the raw flour taste is no longer there, 2-3 minutes at least.
3. Add crumbled saltines or oyster crackers to the soup and let them dissolve. They will thicken the soup. I’ve done this and the soup thickens beautifully. You may need to help the crackers to dissolve by mashing them with your spoon, as described in the 1st method.
Enjoy your soup, perfect for a day like what we’re having in our neck of the woods. The heat has disappeared, replaced by coolness and cloudiness. I’ll take it!
Oh YES we are reading, well at least I am!!!! Thank you! Question – chopped clams in tin – they are just in their own brine /sauce/juice – correct? I have no hope of finding anything other than that here, and even that might be a stretch. Looking forward to try this, will take me right back to the US!
Yes, just use the liquid from the canned clams. You can of course add bottled clam juice, too, if you can find it, but it’s not necessary. Also, I forgot to mention the canned clams were 6.5 oz. each. I hope you like it!
perfect thanks a lot I will go out and hunt for clams. Sadly what I really crave apart from clam chowder are 1) soft shell crabs 2) crab cakes – nary a one to be found in land locked Switzerland….but the memories of DC crabcakes keep me going!
You poor thing! We’ve been going to Maryland lately for steamed blue crabs. The ones they pour on your table and you just hammer away. For us, that’s what summer in the East Coast is all about. We do go to the beach sometimes, but my kids are highly spoiled and snooty about beaches. My fault really, I’ve taken them to Hawaii and Bali. What about canned crabs? Don’t they have them there?
I love clam chowder and look forward to trying yours, and we have the same dinnerware!
Lol, that’s funny, I found my dinnerware on another blog too recently. Let me know what you think of the recipe, if you decide to try it.
I’d say it sounds wonderful if I liked clam chowder. Many years ago I overdid the clams, after digging way too many, and made the clammiest clam chowder in existence. One should not put an entire quart of clams, with liquid, in one recipe of chowder. I’ve not been able to stomach clams since!
I have my ups and downs with clams. And you’re right about overdoing it with clams, because you know what happens when you have too much, and then you burp … Oh, man, I’ve probably just discouraged any more readership now. You should do what my daughter does, eat everything else in the bowl, starting with the crackers, potatoes, the broth, then leave all the pieces of clams behind!
As a child, I did that with oyster stew. Then I’d swallow that one oyster my mother insisted on giving me, whole! I really did love the liquid, but I could not bite into that slimy oyster! I can’t eat them to this day. At least I can eat clams if they are battered and fried.
MMMMMMMMMMMM! Lovely appetizing pics too!
Thanks, Sophie!
Ooh! I’ve been waiting for a delicious clam chowder recipe. Can’t wait to try it!
Give it a try, Jennifer, and let me know what you think. I’ve made clam chowder many times, and this recipe never fails me. Simple and certainly very easy. So glad you decided to stop by!
Yummy yummy yummy! Thank you for this post!
You’re welcome, so glad you liked it!
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This is for you! Super impressed with your recipe, I will make it again to impress my family. 😀 http://turningthetide1.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/just-another-day-in-dublin/
Just saw that bowl of chowder, Jennifer. My mouth is watering. You did good, girl!! XOXO