Manhattan Clam Chowder Takes on New England Clam Chowder

The debate over what constitutes true clam chowder has raged for years amidst clam chowder afficiandos, even in our own personal homes. My husband swears by the red, and I prefer the white. If you know your clam chowder you know that the red is Manhattan and the white is New England. So what caused this dispute and why can't clam chowder lovers just get along!

Manhattan Clam Chowder versus New England Clam Chowder

At What's Cooking America's website you can find the answer and it's some pretty fascinating reading for foodies. The quote by James Beard says it all for me.."". . . that rather horrendous soup called Manhattan clam chowder. . . resembles a vegetable soup soup that accidentally had some clams dumped into it." In a nutshell, Manhattan clam chowder became popular in the mid to late 1880's when Italians combined tomatoes and the clams of Portuguse Fishermen and created what came to be known as Manhatten Clam Chowder.

Whatever....We all know that true American clam chowder is white and has lots of cream, butter, even potatoes in it and is a Cape Cod original that sticks to the bones and brings warmth and seafood goodness on a cold fall or winter afternoon.

There are plenty of recipes for both New England clam chowder and Manhattan clam chowder, but both dishes are one of those cook's dishes that really need no recipe and a little bit of variation here and there can make your own clam chowder recipe fit your tastes and your family. Soups and chowders are great that way!

New England Clam Chowder Recipe

In my kitchen, I start with fresh clams if I can find them. Of course digging for fresh clams in the middle of Indiana..is impossible. So the next best alternative is to find some Little Neck Clams. But it can also be made with about 6 to 8 cans (6.5 oz) of baby clams. Better flavor with the whole clams that you steam and shuck yourself, but acceptable flavor with the canned ones. The nice thing about the canned clams is you can make the soup last minute when the mood strikes you.Canned clams is a commodity I keep on the shelves in the fall and winter.

To prepare the clams, Bring water to boil in a deep soup pot. Add about 3 pins of scrubbed clams and cover, steam for about 8 minutes, when you uncover the pot, you should see those poor little clams opened up, ready to be popped out. If the majority aren't open, cover and continue to cook for another minute or so. Discard any that don't open up. Scrap out the meat from the shells and chop in pieces.

You can make this soup on top of the stove and then let it simmer for 4-6 hours in a slow cooker or Crockpot.

Ingredients:

6 slices of bacon, cut into 3 inch pieces

2 large yellow onions, diced

2 T. all purpose flour

Your clams

2 carrots diced

2 stalks of celery diced

½ red bell pepper, finely chopped, smaller than the carrots and the celery

A little over a pound of potatoes, cubed. I like red potatoes that I leave the skin on, but you can use whatever you have. Gold Yukon potatoes make great clam chowder also.

1 bay leaf

1 t. Old Bay seasoning

1 T. worcestershire sauce

2 c. heavy whipping cream

2 c. of half and half (yeah, both! Or you can make a bit lighter version by only using 4 c. of half and half or 4 c. of just plain milk...

salt and pepper to taste

1 t. of a hot sauce, Tabasco or other hot sauce

½ c. minced fresh parsley

In a skillet brown the bacon, set aside after crisp and drain it on paper toweling. Add the onion and celery and red pepper and cook till tender. Sprinkle the flour into the skillets and stir to make a roux to thicken your chowder. I sometimes add a T. of butter to the skillet to make a richer roux.

Place the clams, and their juice if using canned clams, sauteed vegetables in the roux, carrots, potatoes, seasonings and about 8 cups of water in pot or slow cooker. Cook on stove top for about 1 hour, in slow cooker for about 4.

After all vegies are tender, add the cream or milk and salt, pepper and bit of hot sauce to taste. If you want your chowder thicker, you can make another roux with butter and milk and stir in slowly to thicken. Cook through another 15- 20 minutes and serve with minced fresh parsely or croutons.

Manhattan Clam Chowder

Okay, this is the easy part. You just subsitute canned tomatoes for the milk and water and add it to the beginning, not the end. :) Same recipe, just use tomatoes. For instance, use 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, 4 c. of water, and 4 c. of tomato juice. I also add a bit more spice, for instance, some minced garlic with the onions. I don't like to use much garlic in the New England chowder as I think it overpowers the cream sauce, but for the Manhattan version, add a couple of cloves of fresh garlice minced and saute with the onion and celery.

It's a cold rainy afternoon here in Indianapolis, I think Clam Chowder sounds awesome for dinner tonight..Now if only I could fly east, dig some clams and fly back home in time for supper!

Resources

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Chowder/ManhattanChowder.htm