Manhattan clam chowder

Dice the onions, carrots, potatoes and fennel, press the garlic, and cut the bacon small.

Render the bacon in a heavy bottom pot with a squiggle of olive oil for five to six minutes with no colour.

Turn the heat up a little, add the onions, fennel, carrots, garlic, a strong pinch of salt and the tomato paste, and sweat about five minutes until softened and the paste turns rusty red.

Add the white wine and cook until reduced, scraping up the brown bits.

Add the clam juice, the prepared tomatoes and the diced potato.

Pull four tomatoes from the can and medium chop them; blend the rest of the can smooth with an immersion blender.

Bring up to a simmer, turn to medium low and cook the potatoes gently, avoiding a hard boil, about 10 minutes.

Add the clams, the chopped parsley and the fish sauce.

Adjust with one last strong pinch of salt.

Ladle into a bowl, garnish with a dozen or so cranks of black pepper and finish with extra virgin olive oil.