Clam Chowder

I love clam chowder, especially when served in a bread bowl. I’m a big fan of creamy sauces and soups, and this recipe is pretty spot on. The broth isn’t overly heavy and since I love dunking huge hunks of bread in it, my ratio of broth and cream is a smidge higher than other versions. If you prefer a more chunky soup, feel free to reduce the chicken broth and cream by one cup each.

Before I get to the recipe, I first have to wax poetic about my new kitchen knife. OMG it is amazing. My new baby is a Takamura HSPS Pro Gyuto and it slices everything like butter. Carrots? Butter. Potatoes? Butter. Tomatoes? Butter. Onions? Butter. BUTTER BUTTER BUTTER. I could do this all day. The precision is ridiculous and I’ve never been able to finely dice vegetables like this before in my life. I wish I hadn’t waited so long to get a good quality knife! Now all I have to do is find someone who can sharpen this bad boy for me. And perhaps look at other knife options for down the road… 😉

Okay, back to the chowder. As with all my recipes, please feel free to add/omit any ingredients to your liking! Serve this in a sourdough bread bowl or with a warm loaf of pugliese from your local Nugget Market and you’ll be golden.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 slices thick cut organic bacon, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 2 red potatoes, finely diced
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 quart heavy cream (decrease by 1 cup for chunkier soup)
• 1 quart chicken stock (decrease by 1 cup for chunkier soup)
• 1 10 oz can baby clams, reserve juice in a separate bowl

Directions:

Melt butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add carrots and saute for two minutes. Add bacon, onions, celery, and thyme springs. Season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Cook for five minutes. Add flour and cook an additional minute.

Add cream, stock, and clam juice. Bring to a simmer and stir in potatoes. Bring soup back to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, add clams and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until soup has thickened to your liking.

Serve with crusty bread and enjoy.

Adapted from Rachel Ray

The most fun I’ve ever had chopping veggies!

Love the smell of thyme.

Chowda time.

I’m not sure I would like clam chowder as much without the accompanying bread.

Still using my macro and loving it!

Bailey sometimes helps me choose servingware. He always insists on me putting all the food in his bowl, however. Silly Bailey.