Lovers of New England Clam Chowder, rejoice! This has to be one of my favorite recipes I’ve created to date, and is very close to the real thing. For those of you worried that the coconut milk will impart a strange flavor, don’t – the smokiness of the meat will cancel out any lingering coconut flavor.I used smoked duck breast from Hudson Valley Duck Farm, which I HIGHLY recommend, but you can sub in bacon and I’m sure it will be just as good. If you do end up using bacon, dice it, cook it, and reserve the drippings – use the fat to cook the onion and celery instead of olive oil. The duck breast is pre-cooked and smoked, so there’s no preparation necessary other than dicing it up.
Paleo Clam Chowder
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 T. olive oil
1 c. smoked duck breast, diced (or bacon)
2 c. high quality or homemade vegetable stock
1 enormous (or 2 large) sweet potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 bay leaves
2 (10-oz) cans baby clams, with juice*
1 can coconut milk
3 T. arrowroot powder
salt and pepper, to taste
*Mince if necessary.
Directions
- In large pan, heat oil. Saute onion and celery until translucent and tender, or approximately 3-5 minutes. If you are using bacon instead of duck, saute bacon until cooked through and reserve fat. Using bacon fat, saute onion and celery until translucent.
- Add celery, onion, and the duck/bacon into a crockpot. Add stock, sweet potatoes, bay leaves, and clams.
- Cook on low for 3 hours, or until sweet potatoes are soft but not mushy.
- Add coconut milk.
- Using a bit of the warm liquid, dissolve 1-2 T. of arrowroot and mix well. Add to crock pot. If necessary, repeat with one more tablespoon of arrowroot until desired thickness is reached. I used 3 T exactly.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. This recipe can take a lot of black pepper!
- Enjoy with a batch of almond flour biscuits on the couch with a big, warm blanket.
savage 