What I like most about Manhattan clam chowder is its zesty broth, loaded with bits of chewy clams. I like to make my version spicy and serve it with a side of garlic bread. Rhode Islanders serve a similar dish called Rhode Island red chowder. It is basically the same chowder as Manhattan with a different name.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Spanish onion, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
4 cups (32 ounces) canned stewed tomatoes
8 cups clam juice
2 bay leaves
2 pinches saffron threads
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups chopped clams, preferably fresh
5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, onion, celery, and bell pepper. Sauté for 8 minutes. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, clam juice, bay leaves, saffron, oregano, basil, and crushed red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 35 minutes. Add the chopped clams, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Simmer an additional 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

Makes 6 to 8 servings. The longstanding rivalry between Boston and New York extends to chowder as well as baseball. Bostonians swear that chowder made with tomatoes shouldn’t be called chowder. (Eleanor Early, author of the New England Sampler, once declared, “Tomatoes and clams have no more affinity than ice cream and horseradish.”) New Yorkers think it’s the best kind. There are plenty of native New Yorkers in Boston who still get a craving for their Manhattan clam chowder. I try to satisfy them, though I try not to serve it when the arch-rival New York Yankees are in town!