CwM: New England Clams Meet New Mexico Green Chile

 Clam Chowder with Green Chile and Adobo! 

I made the mistake of leaving out green chile from my traditional New England Clam Chowder recipe and Liza would not eat it. She is usually the biggest fan of the clam chowder. My roots in New England have me make a simple clam chowder with onions, potatoes, clams, a few seasonings, and a couple tilapia filets thrown in for added thickness into the basic white sauce foundation.  Additional flavor comes from a chicken broth made from Costco's rotisserie chicken (after we've picked off the meat, I boil the bones for a couple hours to produce a really flavorful broth.  )

To make this flavorful Southwestern Clam Chowder, melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Then add a diced onion and at least that much diced potatoes.  Cook until soft. Add salt, pepper, thyme, adobo powder, and green chile powder.  I use very, very finely ground spices.  Be sure there's still some butter/oil at the bottom when you sprinkle with flour as thickener (maybe 1/3 to 1/2 C -- more for more soup) .  SLOWLY add the broth (or water) and keep adding until you have the amount of soup that works for you.  Keep stirring, scraping the bottom to get all the brown bits that may have formed during the cooking of the potatoes and onions.  If I add about 3-4 Cups of potatoes and onions, I add about 1/3 C flour and about 5 C of broth.  Then add 4 cans of diced clams with liquid.  Stir well until boiling.  Add 2 tilapia filets (frozen is ok) and simmer until the tilapia is cooked and breaks up.  Taste; add more powdered chile/adobo if you want spicier; if it's too spicy, add a dollop of milk.  Or add cream if you're not worried about cholesterol.

Yum, says William.  Yum, says Liza. 

Notes: I also sometimes add mushrooms after the potatoes and onions are cooked, diced celery with the onions, and sometimes green or red diced peppers.