When we were first married John and I lived in Massachusetts. Since we never ate any sort of seafood in my house growing up (New Jersey) the first clam chowder I ever had was New England clam chowder. I wasn’t much of a cook then so the chowder usually came out of a can, gloppy and thick. But I knew there must be a better recipe.

In 2017 I ran across a recipe by Giselle Hamilton in an article about her in The NY Times.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018768-chowder-soaked-toast?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share

It was too fussy and there was too much cream but I figured I could use it as a basis for my clam chowder. You can keep adding cream until it is as creamy as you would like.

Light clam chowder

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 ribs of celery, diced
2 leeks, dark, woody green parts removed, ¼” coins
10 ounces russet and new potatoes, medium dice
2 sprigs thyme, picked
2 sprigs tarragon
6 ounces dry white wine
2 bottles/16 ounces clam juice
Juice from 2 cans chopped clams (~8 oz.)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons to 1/2 cup heavy cream (your choice)
12 ounces chopped clams (2 cans, reserved liquid, see above)
3-4 slices of toasted hearty bread or oyster crackers (optional)

In a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil, and add onion, celery, leeks, potatoes, tarragon,  and thyme, stirring to coat. Season with salt, and cook over low heat until the vegetables have just started to soften, taking care not to brown, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with white wine and then add the clam juice and reserved clam liquid. Simmer until potatoes and vegetables are cooked through.

Stir in the cream taking care not to boil. Add the chopped clams, and season to taste with salt and ground black pepper. Remove from heat.

Serve with toasted bread, saltines, or oyster crackers (optional)