Tasmanian Clam Soup

The week's holiday in Australia left me with a vague suspicion that my clothes had shrunk in the wash. My jeans waistband was too tight.

Or was it because I had eaten too much...? ...? ...?

Well, during the week, I had some really really REALLY good clam soup for lunch in a tiny little Tasmanian restaurant, and wanted to reproduce my own little interpretation of it.

Coincidentally I had some stock base made from pork ribs in the freezer, left over from the soba noodles in pork ribs miso soup that I had made previously, and it was a great chance to put it to good use.

Tasmanian Clam Soup - serves 4

Ingredients

1kg fresh clams, soaked and rinsed
1kg waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces
300g bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1 leek, sliced finely
2 cloves of garlic, diced finely
1 tablespoon of plain flour
300ml skim milk (you might want to substitute with cream for a richer taste)
1 litre soup stock
Italian parsley for garnish

Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
Level of difficulty: Easy peasy

Heat the soup stock until boiling, add the clams and continue cooking at high heat until all the clams have opened. Separate the cooked clams from the stock, discarding any that remained closed. Set aside.

Continue heating the stock until it is reduced to half its volume.

In a separate bowl, scoop out a few tablespoons of the hot stock and stir in the flour until a thick paste is obtained. Avoid lumps by adding the flour very slowly to the stock. Set aside.

Add the potatoes into another pot of boiling water. Cook for 10-15 mins or until the potatoes yield easily to a fork. Drain, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.

In a deep saucepan, saute the bacon on medium heat until slightly crispy. Add the onions, leek and garlic. Fry until soft and translucent. Add a little of the stock into the saucepan. Stir in the flour paste, stirring to mix thoroughly. Reduce heat and add the rest of the stock.

Remove from heat. Stir in the milk to the soup. Add the potatoes and clams.

Serve in 4 soup bowls, with toasted crusty bread. Garnish with Italian parsley.