Manhattan Clam Chowder

For being a relatively picky eater when we were a kid, we were surprisingly not turned off by fish. In fact, New England clam chowder was one of our favorite soups, right behind cream of mushroom. We're certainly not going to claim that we had some sort of advanced palate (far from it); if you put any sort of creamy soup in front of us, we would drink it right up. Our grandma always had cans of both New England and Manhattan clam chowder in her pantry. If we were offered Manhattan clam chowder, we would run for the hills, screaming our picky little head off. Fish wasn’t an issue, but oh boy, do not try to serve us soup with chunks of tomato in it. Sure, we loved tomato soup, but it was smooth. We didn’t want chunks of tomato. Feeding kids is awesome, huh? We're pretty sure karma is going to eat us alive.

A couple of weeks ago, our Chief Culinary Consultant mentioned that we hadn’t made soup in awhile, so we asked him for some ideas, and one of them was Manhattan clam chowder. Every part of us wanted to scream, “Nooooo! No chunky tomatoes in soup!”… but, we acted like a grown-up and happily made the pot of soup, thinking that perhaps our aversion could have corrected itself in the last 25 years. Turns out, it had, because we were totally stunned when we took our first spoonful. It was memorable, and so flavorful! In fact, now we think we might actually like this better than the New England version. Crazy!

We've found that for most soups to develop a real depth of flavor, they require quite a bit of cooking time. Not so in this case. We were surprised that this could be prepped, cooked, and ready to eat in just over an hour. Most of that time was spent chopping up the vegetables, so if you did that ahead of time and stored them in the fridge, you could have this on the table in well under an hour, which makes it a fantastic weeknight meal option.

Not only am we thrilled that we found a new recipe for a fantastic pot of soup, but we feel like a bonafide adult for not picking out the chunks of tomato.

Score!

One year ago: Peanut Butter-Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Oreo Cheesecake Bars
Two years ago: Fig Cookie Bars and Cherry Coke Float Cupcakes
Three years ago: Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Pastry Cream
Six years ago: Chewy Chocolate-White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Manhattan Clam Chowder

Yield: 8 servings The red, brothy cousin of New England clam chowder often gets a bad rap, but this version is hearty and full of flavor.

• 4 ounces (113.4 g) thick-cut bacon, about 3 slices, cut into ¼-inch pieces
• 1 large yellow onion, diced small
• 1 small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced small
• 1 medium carrot, diced small
• 1 stalk celery, diced small
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine
• 24 ounces (680.39 ml) bottled clam juice
• 5 (6.5-ounce) (184.27 g) cans chopped clams, juice drained and reserved
• 1½ pounds (680.39 g) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice
• 1 bay leaf
• 28 ounce (793.79 g) can diced tomatoes
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, chopped

• In a large pot or 7¼-quart Dutch oven, fry the bacon over medium-low heat until the fat renders and the bacon crisps, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onion, pepper, carrot and celery, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and sauté for 1 minute.
• Add the wine and increase the heat to high. Boil the wine until it reduces by half, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the 3 bottles of clam juice, the reserved canned clam juices, the potatoes, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, smash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot, then simmer for 5 more minutes.
• Add the diced tomatoes (along with their juice), bring back to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from heat, stir in the canned clams and season with salt and pepper to taste; discard the bay leaf. (Chowder can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Warm over low heat until hot.) Stir in parsley and serve immediately.

Notes

Nutritional values are based on one serving

• Yield: 8 servings
• Prep: 30 minutes
• Cook: 45 minutes
• Total: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 ounces ( 113.4 g ) thick-cut bacon, about 3 slices, cut into ¼-inch pieces
• 1 large yellow onion, diced small
• 1 small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced small
• 1 medium carrot, diced small
• 1 stalk celery, diced small
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ cup ( 120 ml ) dry white wine
• 24 ounces ( 680.39 ml ) bottled clam juice
• 5 (6.5-ounce) ( 184.27 g ) cans chopped clams, juice drained and reserved
• 1½ pounds ( 680.39 g ) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice
• 1 bay leaf
• 28 ounce ( 793.79 g ) can diced tomatoes
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Method

1. In a large pot or 7¼-quart Dutch oven, fry the bacon over medium-low heat until the fat renders and the bacon crisps, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onion, pepper, carrot and celery, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and sauté for 1 minute.
2. Add the wine and increase the heat to high. Boil the wine until it reduces by half, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the 3 bottles of clam juice, the reserved canned clam juices, the potatoes, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, smash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot, then simmer for 5 more minutes.
3. Add the diced tomatoes (along with their juice), bring back to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from heat, stir in the canned clams and season with salt and pepper to taste; discard the bay leaf. (Chowder can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Warm over low heat until hot.) Stir in parsley and serve immediately.