Clam Chowder

Clam Chowder

This clam chowder is not a typical thick version. While it does have flour to give it some body it has a thin but flavorful broth. If you like a thicker version, consider adding 1/3 cup flour to the cooked vegetables instead of the recommended ¼ cup.

For the Broth

• 3 medium sized red potatoes, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces bacon, cut into ¼ inch dice
• 1 medium sized onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 stocks celery, diced
• ¼ cup flour
• 4 cups fish, chicken or clam broth
• 2-6.5 ounce cans clams
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup chives, minced

For the Fresh Clams

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small shallot, minced
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¾ cup dry white wine
• 2 pounds small clams, scrubbed

Fill a sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. Make an ice bath and set aside. Salt water liberally and add diced potatoes and boil until just done, around 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and place in the water bath to stop the cooking process. Drain from ice bath, dry and set aside.


Heat your soup pan to medium low, add oil and bacon and sweat until fat is released. Continue to cook on medium-low heat until crisp; remove to a paper towel. Add onions to the bacon fat, turn the heat up to medium and cook until wilted. Add half of the minced garlic and all of the diced celery and continue to cook for three more minutes. Slowly add the flour into the vegetables and cook the mixture for an additional three minutes to take the raw taste out of the flour. Whisk in your broth, and the juice from the canned clams and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and cook at a simmer for five to ten minutes to develop the flavors. Do not salt until you re-add the bacon.


While the soup is simmering, cook the clams. In a pot large enough to hold the clams, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and cook until wilted, about two minutes. Add the remaining minced garlic and red pepper flakes; cook for an additional minute. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the clams, cover and cook until they just open, which could be just a few minutes depending on the type of clam you have. I keep on shaking the pan and opening the lid and picking out the ones that have opened with tongs. Once all of the clams have opened, add the clam liquor to the soup pot, pick the meat out of the shells and lightly chop.


To finish the soup, add the milk, cream, reserved bacon and potatoes and the canned and fresh clams; bring to a simmer. When hot, add chives and check seasonings. I love to add a good measure of freshly ground pepper but taste before you add the salt. Season with salt if needed then serve with crackers.

Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup

What makes this 30-minute soup so special are the condiments that are served with the broth.  Be adventurous and use this recipe as your platform.  Consider adding freshly cut corn, black beans, cubed zucchini or sliced Serrano chiles.  While I recommend frying your own tortilla strips, to save time, crumble in good quality, store bought tortilla chips instead.

Serves 6

1/4 cup vegetable or peanut oil

1 white onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Chipotle chili powder, or to taste

1 teaspoon Chipotle abobo sauce (from canned chipotle chilis), optional

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

3 cups chopped tomatoes, peeled and seeded, fresh or canned

6 cups chicken broth, divided, canned is fine (see recipe)

3 cups shredded cooked chicken

Condiments

Fried Tortilla Chips (see instructions below)

Crumbled Queso Ranchero

Grated Jack cheese

Avocado cubes

Sliced radishes

Shredded cabbage

Fresh Salsa

Chopped Cilantro

Lime Wedges

Warm the oil in a saucepan over medium heat; add onion and garlic and saute for three minutes.  Add Chipotle chili powder and continue to cook until onion is translucent, about three more minutes.  Add tomatoes and cook for two minutes. 

Add one cup of broth and bring to a boil.  Turn off heat and let cool.  Blend the soup base until well pureed.  Place back into the saucepan and add remaining broth.  Add chicken and reheat.

For serving, place condiments in decorative bowls.  Let each individual place their chosen toppings into their bowl.  Ladle hot soup over condiments and enjoy.

Tortilla Strips

10 corn tortillas

Canola or peanut oil for frying

Cut the tortilla in half then cut the halves into strips.  Heat the oil to 350 degrees or until a strip starts to sizzle and crisp.  Add in a handful of strips into the oil and cook until crisp, about 3 minutes, stirring periodically.  Remove from oil onto a papertowel or a rack over a cookie sheet.  Salt while hot.  Repeat until tortillas are done.  May be done earlier and stored in an airtight container after the strips have cooled.

Chicken Broth for Tortilla Soup

Chicken Broth

 

This simple, light chicken broth is made without an initial sear of the chicken or vegetable.  The meat and vegetables are added to the pot, water is added and you cook everything until you have broth.  I used the meat from the chicken for my soup but you could also make this stock with just bones. Roasting or searing everything beforehand will give you a brown stock that is more rich in flavor but I was in a rush.  My soup was perfect with this simple stock and I put it together in a snap! 

• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 4 sticks celery, sliced
• 1 small fennel bulb, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 6 sprigs parsley
• 1 bay leave
• 6 peppercorns
• 1 whole 4-6 pound chicken
• 1 cup white wine
• water to cover

Place the onions, carrots, celery, fennel, garlic, thyme, parsley, bay and peppercorns in a large stock pot.  Add chicken to cover the vegetables and herbs.  Since I was using the meat for my tortilla soup, I cut my chicken up so I could pull out my breasts before my legs for cooking timing.  I covered the vegetables with my chicken pieces to avoid all of the vegetables and herbs floating to the surface and getting scooped up as I skimmed the foam. Add the wine and cover the chicken completely with the water.  Bring the water to a boil, skimming off the foam as it forms.  Once the water comes to a boil, reduce to low heat and until the water just rumbles when it is covered.  Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes, skimming the foam periodically. 

 

Pull out the breast and continue to cook another 10 minutes.  Once the breasts are cool enough to handle, pull the meat off the bones and add the bones back to the soup pot.  After 10 minutes, pull out the legs and let cool.  I used the meat on the wings to flavor my stock but you could also pull out the wings and pick the meat but again, place the bones back in the pot when you are done.  Once the legs are cool enough to handle, pick off the meat and add the bones back to the pot.

 

Once the bones are back in the pot, I let the stock cook without the lid to reduce the liquid a bit, again cooking it at a low rumble.  Cook until the flavor has developed.  I cooked mine about 45 minutes more for a light broth.  If you want a strong flavor, cover and cook up to three hours more.

 

The trick now is to remove all of the bones, vegetables, fat and bone particles.  To do this I first remove the larger bones and vegetables with my skimmer directly into my trash.  I then use a strainer and strain my stock directly into my large, 8-cup measuring cup.  I then place my strainer onto my stock pot and cover it with a tea towel and strain my broth through the tea towel.

 

The particles and fat do not go through the tea towel so your broth is cleaned without having to cool the fat.  As I am pouring the broth through the towel, I pull the towel to a clean spot to give me a "clean" strainer, not full of bone particles which slows the draining process.  I then lift the fat and dump it into the sink and start again.  After this process, the stock is fat free and clear; ready to use for your tortilla soup!

 

Clam Chowder

I was so excited to get a comment on the clam chowder picture I posted from someone I do not even know that I just HAD to cook that soup tonight! My husband gave it a big thumbs up and my daughter Katie, who is not a clam fan ate the soup before I added the clams and loved it. I did not tell her the soup included fish broth, clam juice and the liquor from the fresh clams. What she does not know will not hurt her! I am going to do my best to give you the recipe I created; I measured as I went, to give you the best directions but would love to have someone out there test it and give me their impressions. I served it with my classic Cesar salad with homemade croutons. I forgot to buy the water crackers for the chowder so used some of the croutons for the soup. It worked. Hope you enjoy this.

Clam Chowder

This clam chowder is not a typical thick version. While it does have flour to give it some body it has a thin but flavorful broth. If you like a thicker version, consider adding 1/3 cup flour to the cooked vegetables instead of the recommended ¼ cup.

For the Broth

• 3 medium sized red potatoes, cut in ½ inch dice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces bacon, cut in ¼ inch dice
• 1 medium sized onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 stocks celery, diced
• ¼ cup flour
• 4 cups fish, chicken or clam broth
• 2-6.5 ounce cans clams
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup chives, minced

For the Fresh Clams

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small shallot, minced
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¾ cup dry white wine
• 2 pounds small clams, scrubbed

Fill a sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. Make an ice bath and set aside. Salt water liberally and add diced potatoes and boil until just done, around 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and place in the water bath to stop the cooking process. Drain from ice bath, dry and set aside.

Heat your soup pan to medium low, add oil and bacon and sweat until fat is released. Continue to cook on medium low heat until crisp; remove to a paper towel. Add onions to the bacon fat, turn the heat up to medium and cook until wilted. Add half of the minced garlic and all of the diced celery and continue to cook for three more minutes. Slowly add the flour into the vegetables and cook the mixture for an additional three minutes to take the raw taste out of the flour. Whisk in your broth, and the juice from the canned clams and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and cook at a simmer for five to ten minutes to develop the flavors. Do not salt until you re-add the bacon.

While the soup is simmering, cook the clams. In a pot large enough to hold the clams, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the shallot and cook until wilted, about two minutes. Add the remaining minced garlic and red pepper flakes; cook for an additional minute. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the clams, cover and cook until they just open, it could be just a few minutes depending on the type of clam you have. I keep on shaking the pan and opening the lid and picking out the ones that have opened with tongs. Once all of the clams have opened, add the clam liquor to the soup pot, pick the meat out of the shells and lightly chop.

To finish the soup, add the milk, cream, reserved bacon and potatoes and the canned and fresh clams; bring to a simmer. When hot, add chives and check seasonings. I love to add a good measure of freshly ground pepper but taste before you add the salt. Season with salt if needed then serve with crackers.