Clam Chowder

Clam Chowder for a brisk day or evening! This soup can be made a day ahead just do not add the clams until you are ready to eat it.

Ingredients:

(medium chop all vegetables)

• 2 Cups Onion
• 2 Cups Celery
• 2 Cups Carrots
• 4 Cups Potato's
• 1 to Quart Fresh Clam Juice (you can use canned if fresh is unavailable)
• 1 pint (or more if you prefer) Fresh Large Shucked Clams Cut up
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• 1/2 Tablespoon Pepper
• Butter
• 1 Cup Flour
• Fresh Parsley
• Oyster Crackers

Saute the onions with 1/2 stick butter in a large stock pot or soup pot until almost tender (this can be done while you are chopping the rest of your vegetables).

Add Celery, Carrots, Potato's, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes or until almost tender.

Add Clam Juice, cook for another 10 minutes until vegetable are nice and tender.

While the soup is cooking make your Roux. Melt 1/2 stick butter in pan, when melted and hot add one cup of flour all at once. Whisk and cook for three minutes. This cooks out the raw flour taste.

Add to the Roux a cup of soup broth, whisk (this prevents lumps in your soup). Add Roux mixture to your soup and stir to thicken.

Hint: If you find your soup is too thick you can add a little at a time more liquid, water, chicken broth or more clam broth if you have it.

Add your clams right before you are ready to eat so they do not over cook and get tough. Add clams, cook long enough to heat the clams through.

Serve topped with Parsley and Oyster Crackers.

Enjoy!