Five Star Boston Clam Chowder

Five star Boston clam chowder

Boston and New England clam chowder are one in the same,. The difference between all the clam chowders is the broth.

You see that Boston clam chowder has a thick creamy broth, New England chowder has a thinner almost clear(ish) broth and the Manhattan a red tomato based broth.Okay now that you know the difference between the most popular clam chowders, lets talk  about this Boston clam chowder recipe. This recipe was given 5 stars when it was reviewed by a Bay area food critic. The recipe was given to me when we opened our first little hole in the wall, by a retired short -order cook. I can still see him standing next to the stove as I stood watching, it was a different kind of cooking for this Italian girl.

That Boston clam chowder soup  the retired short order cook taught me to make, was and still is the most requested soup in all our years in the restaurant industry.

A few tips add butter to the pot to help the bacon along, when you add the flour, which thickens the soup, you can use gluten free but whichever you use, let in cook for a few minutes before adding the liquid ingredients. Another thing to remember, add the clams at the end to prevent them from being tough. Wash the fresh clams thoroughly, if you have clams that don’t open when you add them to the soup, you should not use them. If you want less calories replace the cream with low fat milk, and increase the flour by 1/3 cup.

Am not a big fan of cream soups, but this one is so good it’s one of my favorites and the memories attached to it feed my soul! ENJOY!!! If you like easy and delicious soups try my Italian Vegetarian Minestrone soup or a favorite creamy sausage tortellini soup.

Cooking is meant to be fun and creative, so have fun, experiment and let me know if you try the recipes and what you think, that’s my favorite part.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

4 slices chopped bacon

2 Tablespoons butter

1 small onion chopped

3 celery sticks chopped

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

2 diced potatoes

2  15 oz. cans chopped clams in clam juice drained reserve clam juice

1 lb. fresh clams

1 cup each heavy cream,. milk and clam juice

1/3 cup flour

1 tablespoon each Worcestershire  and Tabasco sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Wash clams

Melt  butter in soup pot

Add bacon fry until crispy

Add the onion, celery, garlic and potatoes

saute until opaque

Stir in flour

Add liquid ingredients

Add the rest of ingredients except the clams

Simmer covered until potatoes are crisp tender about 20 minutes

Add the clams simmer just until the clams open removed from fire …….Enjoy!!!!