Manhattan Clam Chowder (Recipe)

Ingredients

2 cups chicken sock or broth 

1 cup cubed potatoes

1/2 cup cubed carrots

1/2 cup cubed celery

12 cup cubed onions

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon snipped parsley

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

3 cups chopped, canned or fresh clams, with juice

1 cup peeled and chopped fresh tomatoes

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1 tablespoon olive oil

Steps

1.  In a large saucepan, stir together the chicken stock or broth, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, thyme, garlic, parsley, and oregano.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and cook about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

2.  Stir in the undrained clams, tomatoes, tomato sauce butter or margarine and olive oil.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Heat until the soup is  bubbly

Tips:

If you're canned clams, you'll need approximately four 6 1/2-ounce cans.  For 3 cups chopped fresh clams, you'll need to buy 2 pints of shucked clams or about 36 clams in their shells.  When buying shucked clams, look for plump ones with clear juices and no pieces of shell.

To clean and shuck the clams: Use a stiff brush t scrub the shells under cold running water.  Then, soak the clams in salted water.  To open the shells, hold the clam with the hinged back side against a heavy cloth in the palm of your hand.  Working over a plate to catch the juices, insert a sturdy, blunt-tipped knife between the shell halves.  Hold the shell firmly and move the knife blade around the clam to cut the muscles that hold the shell together.  Slightly twist the knife to pry open the shell.  Cut the clam muscle free from the shell.

Cubed vegetables are all similar in size.  to simply cubing the vegetables: Cut the vegetables into strips that re 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide.  Line up and stack the strips and cut lengthwise and crosswise through the stack to make even size pieces.

From : America's Best-Loved Community Recipes