Roux:
1 cup yellow onion, fine dice
1/2 cup celery, fine dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 cup small carrots, shredded
2 tablespoons olive oil (or pork fat)
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons AP flour (not sure what flowers Guerry uses, I prefer flour. Roses just don't thicken right)
Saute aromatics in olive oil until softened, add butter and flour and cook until roux in blonde. Remove from heat.
Base stock:
fluid from 2 cans of clams (reserve meat)
2 to 3 lbs small fresh clams in shell (need shells intact and closed
1/8 cup fish sauce (obviously I prefer and recommend Red Boat)
2 cups water
Place liquid in stock pan, put clams in a steaming basket over liquid. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook until all clams open and are cooked. Remove clams and reserve, drain thoroughly into broth.
Other stuff:
2 cups diced red potatoes, or white or gold
chopped parsley
chopped sweet onion
fresh medium grind black pepper, or fine grind white pepper
3 cups half and half
4 tablespoons butter finely diced
Assembly:
heat broth to simmer, add potatoes and cook to done
whisk roux and half and half to form slurry, add pepper if desired
whisk dairy into broth once taters are cooked, allow to cook through until thickened, add clam meat and heat through. Add reserved whole clams and shells.
Plate with a couple of whole clams in each bowl, add chowder, garnish with parsley and sweet onions.
Note, salt may need to be adjusted, to my palate, it rarely needs to be.