Ingredients: Serves 10

• 36 clams, shucked, and their juice
• 2 ounces salt pork
• 6 medium – sized potatoes
• 2 large onions
• 4 cups water
• 2 small bay leaves, crumbled
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 2 ½ tbsp flour
• 5 cups milk
• 3 cups light cream
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

Take the clams and strain them, remove all shell bits. Take the clam juice and set aside for reserve. Take the hard parts of the clam and dice them, but do not do anything to the soft part. Take the salt pork and dice it, then saute until it turns a golden color. Then take the potatoes, and peel them. Proceed to dice the potatoes and the onions. Then add the potatoes, the onions, the bay leaves, and the water to the salt pork. Boil this mixture for a while just until the potatoes have become tender.

While you are doing this, mix the butter and the flour. Then add this mixture, the milk, the cream, the clams, and the clam juice to the potato and salt pork mixture. Stir this over a low heat, until it all comes to a boil and starts to thicken. Then lower the heat and allow it to simmer for another five minutes.

Meanwhile blend the butter and flour. Add this milk, the cream, the clams, and their juice to the potato mixture. Stir over low heat until the soup comes to a low boil and thickens slightly.
Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. You are now ready to serve.