Chef Johns Manhattan Clam Chowder Recipes

Steps:

• Drain baby and chopped clams. Reserve liquid in the refrigerator until needed and set clams aside.
• Place bacon in a soup pot over medium-high heat; cook and stir until well-browned and almost crispy, 7 to 10 minutes. Add onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt; cook and stir until onions start to soften and turn translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add tomato paste; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Don't worry if some of the tomato paste sticks to the bottom of the pot; we want that to happen. Sprinkle in flour; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Dump in reserved clam juice plus bottled clam juice and chicken broth. Stir with a spatula, scraping the bottom of the pot to deglaze any caramelization.
• Add carrots, celery, clams, diced tomatoes, pepper, and cayenne; stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, skimming off some bacon fat if desired.
• Add diced potatoes and cook until tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt, if needed. Stir in fresh tarragon and parsley just before serving.

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir onion, celery, carrots, basil, garlic, and black pepper until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer 1/2 of the vegetable mixture to a food processor.
• Stir 2 cans stewed tomatoes into the pot. Drain the remaining can of stewed tomatoes and add to the food processor. Blend vegetable-tomato mixture until smooth. Stir pureed mixture into pot with vegetables.
• Mix clams, clam juice, and potatoes into the pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer soup until heated through, 15 to 20 minutes. Season soup with Worcestershire sauce.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic, and crushed red pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute more. Tie the parsley sprigs, fresh thyme, and bay leaf together with a piece of kitchen twine and add to the pot with the potatoes. Pour in the clam juice and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and clams. Cover and bring to a low simmer. Season with pepper to taste. Divide among warm soup bowls and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately.
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Steps:

• Heat a 4- to 6-quart heavy-bottomed pot over low heat, and add the bacon.
• Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium, and cook until the bacon is crisp and golden brown.
• Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat, leaving the bacon in the pot.
• Add the olive oil and garlic, and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, carrots, bay leaves, oregano, and crushed red pepper.
• Sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until vegetables are softened but not browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add the potatoes and clam broth.
• The broth should just barely cover the potatoes; if it doesn't, add enough water to cover.
• Increase the heat, bring to a boil, cover, and cook the potatoes vigorously until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center, about 10 minutes.
• If the broth hasn't thickened lightly, smash a few potatoes against the side of the pot, and cook 1 to 2 minutes more to release the starch.
• Add the tomatoes, and simmer 5 minutes more.
• Remove pot from the heat, stir in the diced clams and parsley, and season with black pepper.
• If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely.
• Otherwise, let it sit at room temperature for up to 1 hour, allowing the flavor to meld.
• When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat; don't let it boil.
• Ladle into cups or bowls, making sure the clams, vegetables, and bacon are evenly divided.