The hardest part to making this clam chowder is cleaning and cutting the leek. Leeks are notorious for trapping dirt between their leaves. I cut off the dark green parts first and then cut the leek into quarters lengthwise leaving the root intact. Then I cut it thinly crosswise.

In the recipe below you will see that I use bottled clam juice and the juice that the canned clams come in as my soup stock. There are lots of much more complicated ways to make this soup. You could use actual clams and make your own stock but this recipe works for me.

I have slimmed the recipe down a good deal. Two tablespoons of heavy cream is not much. We put in at least twice as much last night. More cream makes it so yummy!