Clam Chowder

A recipe from Laura Vitale! :)

Here are the ingredients:

 ✿ Flour (depends on how thick you want your soup to get)

 ✿ 3/4ths Whipping/ Heavy Cream

 ✿ Clams (depends on how much you want in about 3-4 cups of soup. I bought a can.)

 ✿ 1 Large Onion (I used White Onion)

 ✿ Salt and Pepper

 ✿ Thyme (Dried or Fresh)

 ✿ 1-2 cups of diced Potatoes

 ✿ 3 slices of thick cut Bacon

 ✿ 2 stalks of Celery, diced

✿ Butter

So before everything, the Vegetables and the Bacon has to be cut into smaller pieces.

Like this.

Then, the most important part of the recipe: the Clam Broth.

I think you can buy Clam Broth in groceries, but since making one can result to a greater flavor, I did it that way. :)

In Laura's recipe when she made the broth, she used 4 cups of water to boil the clams in. She used fresh clams, so 4 cups is solid for the flavors.

I used canned clams that included a bit of juice (about 1/2 or less cup), so I used that juice, then added enough water for it to reach 4 cups.

I've tried using 2 cans and the broth gave more flavor. However, the Clams are exaggeratedly many.

So I suggest you use two cans that include about a cup of clam juice, but spare some of the clams for a different recipe.

You wouldn't want your soup to get really crowded, would you?

No, you won't. That's actually what happened in my first try, lol.

The water x clam juice "mixture".

The clams are added, and are brought to a boil for about 10 minutes or less.

Laura said "until the clams open", but since I used canned clams, I boiled them up until the clams looked cooked; or until they change into a less pale color.

Here's how they looked after getting boiled. :)

Then, filter the broth from the pot to a bowl.

DON'T STIR, by the way.

Laura used what seemed like a large coffee filter that fit perfectly in her bowl.

I tried using our small coffee filter, but it didn't work. Huhu

So I just plainly transferred the broth using a large spoon; not including the bottom part of the juice, because it's where all the sand collects.

Here's the strained Clam Broth! :)

Then, drain the unwanted part of the broth from the pot, and start stirring in the Bacon.

You're not going to need any oil (as Laura said), because the Bacon itself is oily enough.

Like this! I swear, it was mouth-watering. :(

So when it gets into this state, transfer it to a bowl.

Then, stir the Celery and Onions in the pot.

After a few minutes, add in the Butter and Flour (the more, the thicker the soup will get).

When the Celery and Onions are cooked, add in the Potatoes.

P.S. If you want to follow my way, don't add in ALL the potatoes. About 3/4ths only.

Supposedly, the next step is to mix in the broth already; but since I don't like my Clam Chowder to be crowded with the ingredients, and since I don't want the burnt part to get mixed with the soup, I took out the Celery, Onion, and Potato mix once the Potatoes looked cooked.

Then, I blended them.

At first, I felt unsure with blending them up; but when I mixed them in the soup, it contributed greatly to the texture (since I wanted my Chowder a bit thick).

So... no ragrets, guys.

It looked like this.

After blending the vegetables, I placed them on a different pot (still big enough for the soup), and stirred them a bit.

Then, I mixed in the broth, and stirred it well, so that the blended mixture will spread evenly in the soup.

Then, add in the other potatoes that weren't blended.

Place the lid, and let it to a boil until the potatoes are cooked.

Stir it once in a while.

Once they the potatoes are done, add in the Thyme.

Then the Clams, Heavy Cream, Bacon, and season with Salt and Pepper.

Then let it cook for a few more minutes.

Then, the Clam Chowder's done!

It's really not as difficult as I thought; Plus, it can get really yummy. :)

But then, I used canned clams, so I didn't go through the process of opening, scooping out, and cutting up the clams that might have been the difficult part.

If you want something basic and usual, try cooking this! :)
Credits again to Laura Vitale. <3

'Till my next post!