Clam Chowder with Spanish Onions

Ingredients

• 7 lbs. cherrystone clams well-scrubbed and rinsed
• 3 cups water
• 4 strips bacon finely chopped
• 1 medium Spanish onion diced small
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 large red potatoes cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. 1
   In a large soup pot over high heat, add clams to 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and cook just until clams open, about 10 minutes. Remove clams from broth and set aside. (Discard any clams that don't open.) Strain broth through a sieve lined with a coffee filter and set aside.
2. 2
   Clean your soup pot; then over medium-high heat, sauté bacon until it's browned and fat is rendered. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to a paper towel. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat.
3. 3
   Add diced onion to the pot and sautê until translucent. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute, being careful not to brown. Whisk in reserved clam broth. Add potatoes and thyme, and simmer 10 minutes.
4. 4
   Remove clams from shells, reserving liquid, and chop roughly. Strain liquid; then add clams and liquid to the pot. Stir in parsley and cream and cook just long enough to heat clams through, about 3 minutes.