Drizzle olive oil into a large soup pot over medium heat. As soon as the olive oil is warm, add in the chopped onions. Saute briefly until the onions are just translucent. Add the cauliflower. Toss in the pan for about a minute. Pour in the clam juice and water. Bring up to a simmer.

Chop the red potatoes and place in a separate pot full of cold water. Bring up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook about 10 minutes, more or less until the potatoes are tender to the bite. Strain when cooked through.

Scrub the clams removing any crud on the outside of the shells.

Check the cauliflower. When it is tender and soft, transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to puree it into smoothness. If using a blender, cover the lid with a towel and take care when blending hot liquids.

Return to the pot and add in the celery pieces. Bring up to a low simmer.

In a large skillet with a lid (ideally a glass lid), pour in the white wine and garlic. As soon as it is simmering, dump in the cleaned clams. Cover with a lid. Simmer for about 5 minutes, check and remove any clams that have opened up, continue to simmer up to 8 more minutes, removing clams as they pop open. Discard any clams that don’t open, they were most likely dead before you cooked them. :(

Remove the lid and simmer the white wine and clam juice down until it is syrupy. If using the heavy cream, swirl it into this juice.

Stir the potatoes into the soup. Serve the cauliflower base in the bowls. Top with the fresh clams or serve them in a separate bowl at the table for each diner to serve themselves. Have a shell discard bowl at the table as well. Drizzle the reduced sauce over the top of each bowl of soup. Sprinkle with fresh parsley to garnish.