Clam Bake " Stoup

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 lb kielbasa, diced
• 4 cups half a 32-ounce bag frozen diced hash browns
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 -6 sprigs fresh thyme
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon seafood seasoning (recommended ( old bay)
• 4 large ears corn on the cob
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 4 dozen littleneck clams
• hot sauce, to taste
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• handful fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 4 jumbo sourdough english muffins, split
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 garlic clove, peeled

Recipe

• 1 heat a large soup pot with extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. add the kielbasa and brown for 2 minutes; add the potatoes, onions, celery, bay, thyme, and salt and pepper and let the veggies soften up 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• 2 pat shrimp dry and toss with a rounded tablespoon (a generous palmful) of seafood seasoning.
• 3 invert a small bowl and place at the bottom of a larger bowl. shuck corn and stand on end on the small bowl. scrape off kernels. add corn to soup pot.
• 4 add the tomatoes and stock to the pot. cover and bring to a boil. cook for 4 to 5 minutes. add the shrimp and clams and replace the cover. cook until shrimp are pink and firm and the clams have opened up, 5 to 6 minutes. finish stoup with hot sauce, lemon zest and juice and a handful of parsley.
• 5 while the seafood cooks, toast the english muffins. soften the butter in the microwave. mash the garlic cloves with a little salt and make a paste. add the chives and garlic paste to the softened butter and mix. rub hot toasted muffins with garlic/butter mixture and chop into large dice.
• 6 serve stoup in shallow bowls with muffin croutons. place an extra bowl at each setting to collect shells as you eat your clam bake stoup.