September 15, 2014

New England Clam Chowder: Quick Fix #2

dani@slyrooster.com Seafood, Soups chowder, clams, cream, soup 3 Comments

We all have those “pull dinner out of a hat” nights–some of us more often than others. Those nights when the nagging question of “What’s for dinner?” has been answered with “I don’t know,” more times than you can count. There’s no meat defrosting on the counter and not a single fresh vegetable to be found in the back of the refrigerator drawer.

If it’s not Sesame Noodles that I turn to, New England Clam Chowder is there for me in a pinch. Years ago I started with a basic recipe that I’ve been playing of of ever since. Chopped carrots, frozen peas, sweet corn kernels and pearl onions have all found their way into my chowder. Sometimes I substitute whole milk for the heavy cream and vegetable broth for the chicken stock.

For the purpose of this post, I returned to my original source Dave Lieberman’s New England Clam Chowder and made only minor alterations. His recipe says that it makes 6-8 servings but it serves only four in my house so feel free to double.

If you’re truly scraping the bottom of your pantry/fridge, this soup can stand on its own. When I have the time, I like to add a crusty baguette (or some crowd-pleasing oyster crackers) and a simple green salad.

Dinner is served. Enjoy!