Minorcan Clam Chowder- Recipe for a spicy soup that will really warm you!

St. Augustine is one of my favorite cities in the world, though it is more of a “village”.  Their food is famous for the culinary influence of their immigrants from Minorca.  One of the signature dishes you can find there is the Minorcan style clam chowder.  This tomato based soup has a nice kick from a special pepper, the datil.  Datil peppers are a member of the habanero family that is very popular in St. Augustine.  If you cannot find datils, you can substitute a habanero.

Minorcan Clam Chowder

1 ½ cup chopped, uncooked bacon
2 cups chopped white onion
2 large stalks of celery, chopped fine
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1 datil pepper, chopped
2- 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 TBSP dry thyme
2 bay leaves
2- 8 oz bottles clam juice
2 cups diced raw potatoes
3 cups clams and juice
1 TBSP sugar

Sauté the bacon in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onion, celery, pepper, and datil.  If you prefer a less spicy soup, remove the seeds from the datil before adding to pot–be careful handling, it is a hot pepper.  Cook mixture until onions are transparent then add tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and clam juice.  Simmer for 15 minutes then add remaining ingredients and continue to simmer until potatoes are tender.  Adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper before serving, if desired.

Thanks to the kick from the peppers this soup will really help you keep warm when the weather is chilly.