Manhattan Clam Chowder

While you’ll no longer catch me complaining about the near perfect weather we have practically everyday here in SoCal – I must admit… it comes with a downside.

The two things I realized while spending some time back home (in Jersey) over the holidays are this:

1.  I do NOT miss the “cold-wet-need-to wear-too-many-layers” winters.

2.  I DO miss the culinary inspiration that comes with such drastic seasonal changes.

It’s true.  Living in California does not inspire me to make warm, hearty comfort foods.  The autumn doesn’t scream, “Hey…make apple pie”  just like the winter doesn’t chant, “We need big warm pots of soup!“.  Back east the seasons help to dictate what’s for dinner… it evokes very specific feelings that tend to tell you exactly what to make for dinner…it’s fun.

That’s not to say that we don’t get any deviation in weather here, because we do.  And here in SOCal. I get to watch as the farmers markets change shapes, textures and colors as the produce morphs from season to season.  Sure the climate remains relatively stable BUT the produce does change with the seasons SO rather than marching to the beat of the climate I suppose I march to the beat of the produce. 

This recipe was highlighted in a video that we lost a while back.  This is definetely the one recipe I get the most emails about… readers asking if I could forward them the recipe!  So I figured it was about time to re-post this bad boy, video or no-video!

This soup was inspired by Andrew Weil’s Cookbook, “A Healthy Kitchen“ (a great cook book btw).  It’s easy to make and comes together very quickly PLUS it’s the perfect soup for those dealing with a wet-cold winter AND for those of us who are wearing flip flops with a scarf to stay warm in our seventy degree winters!

If you prefer New England clam chowder, simply swap out the tomatoes for some milk OR if you re feeling especially indulgent, perhaps some cream.  Enjoy!!    

Manhattan Clam Chowder

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Ingredients

1 cup of leeks, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil

3 stalks of celery, chopped

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

3 tbsp of white whole-wheat flour

2 cups of water

2 cups of reserved clam juice

1 potato, peeled and diced

28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1 tbsp Worchestire sauce

24 ounces of chopped canned clams *(reserve the juice then rinse)

 

Garnish:

Fresh parsley 

Hot sauce

 

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Stir in leeks, celery, and a good pinch of salt and cook for about five minutes.  Once you can smell those leeks, add in your garlic and sauté for another few minutes or until the leeks and celery begin to soften (if your veggies start to brown, turn the heat down!).

 

Sprinkle flour over your veggies and stir, making sure that there are no clumps (all of the veggies will have a light coating of flour).   Add in the thyme, potatoes, water and clam juice, and give it all a quick stir.  Turn the heat to high and bring everything to a boil.

Once you’ve reached a boil allow, reduce the heat to a simmer and stir in the tomatoes and clams.  Add Worchestire sauce and season with salt and pepper. Simmer until everything is heated through and the potatoes are fork tender.

 

Top with some hot sauce and fresh chopped parsley.  Enjoy!

Serves 6.

Nutritional Analysis

1 1/4 cup soup:

Calories: 171; Total Fat: 1.6g; Saturated Fat: 0.2g; Cholesterol: 23mg; Sodium: 568mg; Carbohydrate: 19.8g; Dietary Fiber: 2.4; Sugars: 1.8g; Protein: 18.6g

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