Monday, April 1, 2013

#87 Clam Chowder








4 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small onion diced
2 stalks celery diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 head cauliflower diced
1 table spoon butter

Melt butter in a Dutch Oven, saute vegetables in butter about 5 minutes or so.

1 can clams, drained, save the juice
2 cups chicken broth

Add clam juice and broth to the vegetables, top off with water to just cover the veg (if needed) and simmer covered about 15 minutes.

While the veg is simmering, make a white sauce:
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Mix 3 tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon Cajun Seasoning and a dash of salt and pepper.  Whisk into melted butter and cook until bubbly and starting to brown,  Slowly stir in 2 cups of milk.  Cook stirring frequently until boiling. Continue to cook and stir for at least a minute or two.  By this time the veg should be tender.  Gently stir in white sauce and clams.  Heat through for a bit and then serve.

Options:

Fry up a couple of slices of chopped bacon, use the bacon grease to saute veg.
Add some corn.
Add mushrooms.

I didn't have any celery on hand, so I added some celery seed to the white sauce.