Bella Noir's New England Clam Chowder

Makes 6 servings, generous 1 cup each

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 medium red potato, diced
• 1, 8- ounce bottle clam juice (Bella Noir recommends Bar Harbor)
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups low-fat milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces fresh clam strips, chopped, or (3) 6.5 ounce cans chopped clams, rinsed (Bar Harbor makes these too!)
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crispy, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer half of the cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon. Add onion, celery and thyme to the pan; cook, stirring until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add potato, clam juice and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the vegetables are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Whisk milk, cream, flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add to the pan and return to a simmer, stirring, over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add clams and cook, stirring occasionally, until the clams are just cooked through, about 3 minutes more.

To serve, discard bay leaf. Ladle into bowls and top each serving with some of the reserved bacon and scallions.

Nutritional Information:

Per serving: 253 calories; 13 g fat (6 g sat, 4 g mono); 59 mg cholesterol; 20 g carbohydrate; 16 g protein; 1 g fiber; 585 mg sodium; 392 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Iron (50% daily value), Vitamin C (23% dv), Calcium (2.1% dv), Vitamin A (17% dv), 1 Carbohydrate Serving Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 1/2 low-fat milk, 1 lean meat, 2 fat

Recipe and photo courtesy of EatingWell.com. All Rights Reserved.