Here's my first recipe for a vegetarian "non-clam" chowder that I made last year, on George Washington's Birthday. It does have dairy in it (butter and milk), so it's not vegan. I'll try making that next!
The key ingredient in my chowder is cooked whole oat groats, which were soaked in water overnight and then cooked for an hour or longer, using the same ratio of grain to water as used for cooking rice. I only used a cup of the cooked oats for my recipe and saved the rest for something else.
BOSTON "NON-CLAM" CHOWDER
SAUTE IN A LARGE CHOWDER/SOUP POT:
3 pieces of wakame seaweed, pre-soaked in water 10 minutes
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
ADD AND CONTINUE TO SAUTE:
6 small/thin stalks of celery, diced
ADD AND CONTINUE TO SAUTE:
4 small yellow (Yukon Gold) potatoes, diced
ADD:
2 cups water
COVER AND COOK 33 MINUTES, MEDIUM HEAT.
AFTER 20 MINUTES, ADD, AND CONTINUE TO COOK:
3 dashes of unrefined sea salt (available from Gold Mine Natural Foods)
MEANWHILE, MAKE A ROUX IN A MEDIUM 10" FRYING PAN:
ROUX:
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup milk (Straus Family Creamery's whole milk)
ADD TO THE ROUX:
2 1/2 cups milk (Straus Family Creamery's whole milk)
1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fine-ground black pepper
STIR AND COOK OVER LOW HEAT UNTIL SMOOTH AND CREAMY.
REMOVE SEAWEED FROM THE CHOWDER POT AND SET ASIDE FOR A GARNISH.
ADD TO THE CHOWDER POT:
• Roux
• 1 cup oat groats, cooked
HEAT, AND SERVE (WITH SEAWEED GARNISH)
Notes:
• During reheating, the soup thickens up rapidly — need to add more milk each time.
• Straus Family Creamery doesn't add anything (like fake "Vitamin D") to their milk or butter, and their products are free from any GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms).
• Oat groats give a nice chewy texture to replace the clam pieces. My husband liked them. He said he couldn't tell the difference between my soup and regular clam chowder. Wow!
• Bob's Red Mill products include organic whole oat groats.
See also:
Manhattan Non-Clam Chowder
The Annual Clam Chowder Cook Off
Santa Cruz Non-Clam Chowder
Related Blog Articles:
Organic Farmers and SOS-Earth
Adapting Our Diets To The Situation
