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If you like a rich cream full of clams, potatoes and vegetable chowder soup then I think you’ll like this traditional New England (Boston) Clam Chowder Soup recipe. I thought I would give frozen (fresh) clams a try in this along with adding clam juice and vegetables to give the soup a little boost in flavor and chunkiness. I was not disappointed. The soup was full of just enough extra flavor and slightly bigger clams (depending on how you chop up the clams) to make it all worth the extra effort. The soup is delicious and hearty.
Serve it with crusty bread and a little more to soak up all that delicious flavor.
New England Clam Chowder Soup
Ingredients
- 1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 Carrots, diced
- 1 Leek, thinly sliced
- 1 small Onion, diced
- 3 Celery stalks, diced
- 6-8 Red Potatoes, medium diced or 10-12 small Red Potatoes
- 4 Garlic cloves, minced
- 2 – 3oz pkgs Pancetta or substitute for 4 slices of bacon
- 4 – 6.5oz cans chopped Clams or 2 pounds fresh Clams, shucked
- ½ cup Butter
- ½ cup Flour
- 3 – 8oz bottles or cups of Clam Juice
- 2 cups Half and Half
- 2 cups Cream
- 1 tsp Thyme
- 3 Tbsp Parsley, chopped, extra for garnish
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Salt and Pepper
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese for garnish, if desired
Directions
- In a large heavy pot, like a Dutch Oven, cook the pancetta till light and crispy. Remove and place on a paper towel to drain.
- In the same pot, add 1 Tbsp or more of olive oil and sauté the carrots until just tender. Add in the onions, leeks and celery and continue to cook till just tender.
- Add the potatoes and the clam juice to the vegetable mixture and bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer and cook till the potatoes are tender.
- In the meantime, in a small pan melt the butter and add in the flour. Cook the flour on low until cooked. Be sure not to brown the flour. Add in about 1 cup or more of the clam juice broth from the drained clams (from the cans) and whisk until thoroughly combined and smooth. If too thick just add another Tbsp or more and add the flour mixture to the vegetable mixture and cook on low till slightly thicken.
- Add in the cream, half and half and the clams to the vegetables. Cook the clams on med – low until tender and the soup has thickened. Gently stir in half of the pancetta and some of the parsley. Taste to see if salt and pepper is needed.
- Serve the hot soup in bowls and garnish with the pancetta and parsley and shredded cheddar cheese if desired and good hearty crusty bread.
Enjoy ☺
