easy manhattan Clam Chowder
By: dad1337
Published: Saturday, June 13, 2015 - 5:42am

Ingredients




1 medium onion diced
2-3 stalks of celery finely diced
2 medium carrots finely diced
2 Tbs Olive oil
1 tsp hot pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
3-4 Tbs dried thyme leaves more if necessary
1 24oz can crushed tomatoes
2  15 oz cans whole potatoes or 3-4 medium waxy potatoes cut        into ¼" cubes
4-6  6.5oz cans minced clams, broth reserved
1 bottle calm juice
salt & pepper to taste

Preparation

1 Open the cans of clams and using a sieve drain the juice of the clams into a bowl, place the clams in a separate bowl and set aside covered in the refrigerator. 2 In the pan heat the Olive oil to medium and then add the onion, celery, and carrots and about 1 tsp of salt and pepper each and cook until the vegetables are wilted but not browned. 3 Carefully add the tomato, pepper flakes, bay leaves, 2 Tbs thyme, potatoes and the juice from the  clams and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour until the potatoes are cooked through. 4 Just before serving add the clams.  Taste and adjust seasoning at this time.  If not clammy enough add a little of the clam juice, not enough thyme add more and if needed adjust the salt and pepper. 5 Makes a great soup course or a filling meal served with Scottish Scones: http://www.rantsravesandrecipes.com/scottish-scones/.

About

Although fresh is best, it is a chore to open and chop so many calms and in many places they are not easy to find, so using canned ingredients is certainly acceptable.   I think that the two secrets to a great Manhattan clam chowder are a great clammy taste and a lot of thyme.  This recipe will give you both with easy to use items from your cupboard.
I like to use a large straight sided sauté pan to make this recipe as it makes cooking the vegetables easier, just make sure it's large enough to accommodate all the ingredients.