Thursday, November 7, 2013

Manhattan Clam Chowd....er


You can't call it chowdah if it isn't from Maine. My husband was suspicious of this soup because he grew up spending summers in Maine, and his family lives there now. So a tomato clam chowder just doesn't sound right. If I had just called it "Tomato Clam Soup" he might have felt differently. But Manhattan Clam Chowder sounds so fancy!

It's really easy, cheap, and you probably have all the ingredients. The only thing that kept my version from being Lenten was the lard I used to saute the vegetables at the beginning. You can use olive oil or just soften them with a little clam juice or water.

Manhattan Clam Chowder (Can Be Lenten)
1 Tbsp lard, olive oil, or butter
2 stalks celery, sliced thin
2 medium onions, diced
2 biggish carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
2-5 cloves garlic, minced
2-14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes
2 cans of minced clams
3-5 large potatoes, cubed
dill
salt
pepper
Tabasco or Tapatio to finish

Do I even have to tell you what to do? It's so easy. Saute the vegetables except potatoes until they are soft. Add the tomatoes and the juice only of the clams, along with the potatoes. Add a couple of cans of water so that you have enough liquid to cover the potatoes. Salt generously, because the potatoes need it! Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 30-40 minutes. Add the reserved clam meat and seasoning.

Now, if you are really fancy, you will use the last 10 minutes of simmering to steam some REAL LIVE clams in their shells! Ooh la la.

Sorry that this is just a recipe blog now! I'll get back on this horse someday. 

2 comments:

  1. Chowder? I hardly knew her!

    (Sorry, I had to)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh don't apologize, that's my favorite joke!

      Delete