Clam Chowder (Massachusetts)

This creamy, milk-based New England chowder (or "chowdah" to Boston locals) is filled with chunks of potato, bacon for salty flavour and plenty of fresh clams. Get your oyster crackers ready for serving and don't even think about including tomatoes; this isn't Manhattan.

2 pts (4 cups) fresh clams
8 oz speck di prosciutto or bacon, cut into small pieces
3 small onions, finely diced
1½ pts (3 cups) boiling water
1½ lbs potatoes, peeled and diced
black pepper, freshly ground
1½ pts (3 cups) milk

To serve:
crackers, crumbled

Shuck the clams or steam them open using a little white wine. Keep all the liquor from the shells.

In a heavy frying pan slowly fry the bacon and onions until golden; transfer to a saucepan. Add the boiling water, potatoes and pepper and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add the clams, with their liquor, and the milk. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 1 hour.

Just before serving, reheat the chowder. Ladle into bowls over crumbled crackers. You can get rid of a lot of anger by putting your packets of crackers in a plastic bag and throwing them on the floor repeatedly, until they reach the required state of crumb. Or stamp on them.

Makes 6 servings.