Weeknight Seafood Chowder

Last April, we took the long way home from Florida. We had never seen the Outer Banks of North Carolina so we decided to spend a few days there and check it out. The weather wasn't the best- overcast and really windy- but we enjoyed seeing the sea shore and the history. The photo above is where Wilbur and Orville Wright launched their glider like plane with success. They took turns being captain and the markers show how far each attempt got. All the restaurants around served clam chowder and since it was chilly, soup hit the spot. When I got home I wanted to make some, but recipes that called for boiling clam or shrimp shells to get broth really put me off. Who's got the time or patience for that? I found that bottled clam juice, frozen shrimp, and canned clams were the way to go to make speedy but tasty seafood chowder.

Weeknight Seafood Chowder Ingredients for Four Servings:

1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups clam broth
3/4 cup water
1 pound frozen shrimp, rinsed
1 can clams, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoon fresh parsley for garnish

Procedure:

In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the diced onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Mix in the flour - it will look like paste. Using a whisk, stir in the clam juice and water a little at a time. Place the cubed potatoes, thyme,salt, pepper and hot pepper flakes in the pot and bring up to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium low and continue to simmer for 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Add the frozen shrimp and drained canned clams. Bring up to a boil again, then turn the heat down to medium. If the shrimp were uncooked, simmer until they are completely pink - less than 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the half-and-half. Ladle into bowls and garnish each bowl with about a half a tablespoon of parsley,