SUMMER SHACK |
Cambridge, Massachusetts |
It all started in the late 1970s, when I was searching for an identity as a young chef. I knew I was never going to be French, so I focused my research right where I lived—New England, not just the classic “well-bred” dishes but also regional stuff. Living in Boston meant I was already working with a lot of Portuguese cooks; in time, I began to understand the accent of their cooking.
For the next twenty years or so, I was a fine-dining chef, but my real fantasy was always to have a clam shack—the sort of shore food found on the boardwalk and in funky taverns. This stew is the melding of my two careers in one pot.
In the same way salt pork or bacon bolsters chowder, chorizo adds a little fat to an otherwise lean dish, and the spices drift out during cooking, flavoring the broth. Meanwhile, the acidity of the wine and tomatoes cuts through the richness of the sausage. The list of ingredients may be long, but put them together and let the stew do what it’s designed to do—cook itself.
SERVES
12
LEVEL of DIFFICULTY
WORTH THE EFFORT |
REASONABLE |
EASY |
3/4 cup/180 ml olive oil
8 small bay leaves
1 tsp red pepper flakes
6 garlic cloves, minced
Leaves from 8 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
3 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
3 medium red or green bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
2 tsp saffron threads, chopped
Three 14-oz/400-g cans whole tomatoes, strained, juice reserved and tomatoes cut into strips
3 cups/720 ml dry white wine
6 cups/1.4 L fish stock, clam juice, chicken stock, or water
12 oz/340 g chorizo or linguiça sausage, removed from casings and sliced 1/2 in/12 mm thick
24 littleneck clams, scrubbed
24 oz/680 g lean fish fillets such as hake, cod, halibut, or striped bass, cut into 12 pieces
24 oz/680 g fatty fish fillets such as bluefish or mackerel, skin and blood line (the spongy dark strip found in fast-swimming fish) removed and discarded, cut into 12 pieces
30 oz/850 g mussels, scrubbed and debearded (see facing page)
12 oz/340 g squid, including tentacles, cleaned and bodies cut into rings about 1/2 in/12 mm thick*
Kosher or coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup/10 g packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/3 cup/10 g packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
6 cups/570 g cooked white or brown rice
1. In a very large (10- to 12-qt/2.4- to 2.8-L) heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the bay leaves and red pepper flakes and sauté until sizzling and the bay leaves begin to brown, about 1 minute. Add the garlic, thyme, onions, and bell peppers and sauté, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened but not browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the saffron and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes and their juices, the wine, and fish stock and raise the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, stirring once or twice. Stir in the chorizo and clams, discarding any open clams that don’t close when you touch them. Simmer, uncovered, for 4 minutes. Add the lean and fatty fish and stir to submerge while still raw. Simmer slowly for about 10 minutes, lowering the heat if the stew seems to be boiling too fast. Add the mussels and squid, this time leaving them on top of the stew without submerging (the steam will cook them), and simmer for 6 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and let sit for 20 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
3. Using tongs, evenly distribute the fish and shellfish among 12 soup plates or bowls. (Discard any clams or mussels that failed to open.) Return the broth to low heat, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley and cilantro. Ladle the hot broth over the seafood in each bowl and serve immediately, passing the rice at the table.
TIP
Have everything chopped, measured, and ready before you start.
* Don’t try to clean the squid yourself, unless you’re excited about trying; just ask your fishmonger to do it.
