New England Clam Chowder

Most people don’t realize how easy it is to make clam chowder! If you prep ahead of time, you can have this soup on the table in 30 minutes. This serves four people with no leftovers, but it’s also very easy to double and triple.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks sliced thin
3 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 cups clam juice
1 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
3/4 pound Idaho potatoes, peeled, cubed, and rinsed
3 (6.5-ounce) cans chopped clams in juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and saute until softened, mixing often. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Add the clam juice, heavy cream, bay leaves, and potatoes and stir to combine.
Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly (the mixture will thicken), then reduce the heat to med-low and cook 20 minutes, stirring often, until the potatoes are tender. Then add clams (with juice) and season to taste with salt and pepper (taste first, only if needed), cook another few minutes.