Does anything say Fall cooking like a big pot of homemade soup?
This is another surprising discover from last Autumn. I say surprising because it is a Weight Watchers recipe, a darn good one. The only real “healthy” compromise we noticed is the turkey bacon. But, because the rest of the recipe is so lean, next time, we will probably go with real bacon and just deal with the slightly upped PointsPlus value. No further changes needed. This dish is delish! And pretty darn easy — particularly since the clams get steamed in the soup to open, instead of fussing with shucking.
Enjoy!
Easy Manhattan Clam Chowder
Weight Watchers Info: 3 PointsPlus
Ingredients
- 5 slice(s) uncooked turkey bacon (go for REAL bacon if you’re fine with upping the Points)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 large onion(s), diced into ½-inch pieces
- 2 large carrot(s), diced into ½-inch pieces
- 4 stalk(s) (medium) celery, diced into ½-inch pieces
- ½ pound(s) uncooked potato(es), diced into ½-inch pieces
- 4 cup(s) canned clam juice, or bottled clam juice
- 32 oz canned crushed tomatoes in tomato puree, plum-variety
- 1½ Tbsp thyme, fresh, leaves (or less to taste)
- 1 leaf/leaves bay leaf
- ½ tsp table salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 pound(s) clams with shell, little neck-variety, shells scrubbed
- ¼ cup(s) parsley, fresh, minced (or less to taste)
Instructions
- In a large heavy pot, sauté bacon over medium-high heat until crispy, about 5 to 6 minutes; remove bacon, crumble it and set aside.
- In the same pot, heat olive oil over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add onions, carrots, celery and potatoes; stir vegetables, scraping bacon drippings from bottom of pot with a wooden spoon, to mix and coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions wilt, about 10 to 15 minutes; add clam juice, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil for about 1 minute and then reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are tender, about 50 minutes.
- Add clams to soup, cover and increase heat to high. Boil soup just until clams open, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove clams from shells, discard shells and place clams back in soup. Toss in parsley, crumbled bacon and serve. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
