New England clam chowder

Ingredients

Quantities for 4 servings.

• 1.5 kg Clams, in the shell
• 120 g Smoked bacon, diced
• 500 g Waxy potatoes, in 1.5 cm dice
• 1 piece Onion
• 2 piece Celery
• 300 ml Single cream
• 300 ml Milk
• 2 tbsp Plain flour
• 3 sprig Thyme
• 1 piece Bay leaf
• 40 g Butter
• to taste Oyster crackers

Method

1. Scrub the clams and steam them in a cup of water, covered, for five minutes, until they open. Discard any that stay shut. Strain the liquor through muslin: sand settles in it.
2. Take the meat from the shells and chop it coarsely. Set it aside; it returns at the very end.
3. Render the bacon in the pot, add the butter, onion and celery, and sweat them for eight minutes until soft.
4. Stir in the flour, cook it two minutes, pour in the strained clam liquor and the milk, and add the potato, thyme and bay.
5. Simmer for fifteen minutes until the potato is soft. Crush a few pieces against the side: the soup thickens without more flour.
6. Pour in the cream, return the clams and warm through for two minutes without boiling. Check the salt and serve with crackers.