New England Clamless Chowder
Whether or not you are a fan of clam chowder, if you are a fan of decadently creamy potatoes and are craving comfort food, this is a dish you will love. It doesn’t have the fishy taste of clams, but the shitake mushrooms provide their color and chewiness and enhance the character of this dish as a hearty clam chowder. I have fooled people from New England with this delightful stew. New England Clamless Chowder is a perfect transition dish if you miss seafood and a substantial, satisfying stew regardless.
New England Clamless Chowder
Whether or not you are a fan of clam chowder, if you are a fan of decadently creamy potatoes and are craving comfort food, this is a dish you will love. It doesn’t have the fishy taste of clams, but the shiitake mushrooms provide their color and chewiness and enhance the character of this dish as a hearty clam chowder. I have fooled people from New England with this delightful stew. New England Clamless Chowder is a perfect transition dish if you miss seafood and a substantial, satisfying stew regardless.
Servings: 7 cups
Calories: 200kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked for 8 hours
- 2 tablespoons white light soy or garbanzo bean miso Master Miso brand is the most readily available.
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste optional
- 2 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)
- 5-6 cups skin-on Yukon Gold potatoes (cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch chunks)
- 3/4 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
- 3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 cup thinly sliced dried shitake mushrooms (broken into 1/4 inch pieces)
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves* (or to taste)
Instructions
- Cover cashews in water and soak for eight hours or overnight. Discard liquid. (You may skip this step if you have a high-powered blender like a Vita-mix.)
- Cover shitake mushrooms with an inch of boiling water. Allow to soak for thirty minutes. Drain mushroom liquid into a measuring cup. Add enough water to bring the total liquid to equal one cup.
- Turn the Instant Pot on sauté function and allow to become hot. Add peppers, onions, and celery and sauté until translucent and soft.
- When the onion mixture is soft, stir in mushrooms and potatoes. Add mushroom water.
- Cover and set the pressure valve to seal. Set the Instant Pot to Manual, high, for 1 minute. When the timer has counted down to zero, turn the IP off and release the pressure. Take care to keep your face and hands away from the pressure valve to prevent burns.
- While the Instant Pot is coming to pressure, make the cashew cream sauce. Transfer one cup of cashews and one cup of water to a Vitamix or some other high-powered blender. If you don't have a Vitamix, you can use a regular blender but you will have to soak the cashews for at least four hours, preferably eight, then discard liquid. Add miso and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Once all the pressure has released, and the valve has dropped down, it is now safe to open the lid. Turn the Instant Pot to the OFF position and remove the lid. Change setting to SAUTÉ and set the temperature to low.
- Stir in cashew cream. Add another half cup of water to the blender and blend on high to capture all the remaining cashew cream. Add to Instant Pot.
- Stir in thyme and black pepper. Salt to taste if using**. Simmer for five minutes or until the cashew cream has thickened. Add water if needed. Taste and adjust spices, adding more thyme if desired. Serve hot with crisp bread.
Notes
* I use 2 tablespoons home-dried thyme. Commerically prepared thyme is more concentrated, so you'll need much less. Thyme can overpower a dish, so sneak up on it!
**Miso contains a considerable amount of salt, so it may not be necessary to add salt to this dish. If you choose to add salt, do it at the very end of the cooking process.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 27.96g | Protein: 5.52g | Fat: 7.67g | Saturated Fat: 1.53g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.54g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4.6g | Sodium: 156mg | Potassium: 140mg | Fiber: 4.24g | Sugar: 4.43g
Below are the equipment and products I used in this recipe. Click on the photo to order yours through my affiliate link with Amazon.com, for which I receive a small advertising fee. Please visit my Store for more information.
Food To Live Organic Cashews
I printed this recipe back on 3/4/18 and finally made it today! It is SO good. I made it exactly as the recipe states. I didn’t use the tomato paste that is listed as optional. I have a VitaMix so didn’t need to soak the cashews. I used 1 /2 tsp dried of thyme as mine is fresh and potent. Most of my spices are from Penzey’s. Both my husband and I loved the recipe. I may try it again sometime using half potatoes and half cauliflower. We eat potatoes, but not a lot. I think this soup would be a hit regardless of your eating style. We eat whole foods/plant based with occasional fish. But I can’t eat clams….they make me very ill! I had always loved New England Clam Chowder until I developed an allergy to clams! This was a nice treat!
I’m so glad you enjoyed my recipe, Lynne. It’s one of my comfort food favorites. If you don’t care for potatoes, adding cauliflower is a great substitution, especially with the cashews. I often do that with cauliflower Alfredo. The cashews give it a richer texture than just cauliflower. The amount of thyme you use is a personal choice. How much I use depends on whether it is fresh or dried, the strength of the spice, its age, etc. You are using good judgment by sneaking up on it until you have the spice-level you prefer. Thanks for your comments and happy cooking! Danielle
Would love to know the nutritional values
I don’t include nutritional values because frankly because it requires more work than I have time for. You are the only person who has asked for that information, so I have felt that my time is better spent creating new dishes. Since there is so little in the foods I prepare that are not whole foods, I don’t generally concern myself with the nutritional data; it is all high in nutrition, low in sodium, and I use almost no processed oils. However, if my husband/sous chef/videographer/editor is willing to take on yet another task, perhaps I’ll start adding the nutritional data, lol. Thanks for your input, Pauletta. (BTW, the recipes in my book do contain that information.)
Here are the nutritional values for New England Clamless Chowder:
Nutritional Data: 1 Cup
Calories: 200, 7.67g Fat, 5.52g Protein, 27.96g Carbohydrates, Cholesterol: 0, Saturated Fat: 1.53g, Total Fiber: 4.24g
Well, what do you know! The recipe program seems to have a nutrition calculator. It is still a pain; half the items are not available, but my husband is nevertheless delighted! Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Savor the journey! Danielle