a whisk and a spoon

Everyday Dorie: Holiday Fish Soup

I’m going out tomorrow for a big Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner, but this Holiday Fish Soup has five fishes in just one pot. To get ready for my soupy celebration, I hit up the seafood guys at the framers’ market and splurged on clams, cod, squid and scallops, and found a few large, shell-on shrimp in my freezer.

Dorie’s soup starts by infusing a broth with some Asian aromatics like lemongrass, shallot, ginger, garlic, lime zest, chiles and scallions. After a quick sauté to release their good stuff, I added water as my broth base and I poached the shrimp (still in their shells for added flavor) and the clams in it to make my own seafood stock of sorts. I strained out the solids, setting aside the cooked clams and shrimp, and added in a sprinkle of granulated dashi to boost the seafood umami. There are a few veggies bobbing around in this soup, too. I used a king oyster mushroom, sweet potato and baby bok choy, and cooked them in the broth along with the rest of the seafood.

Dorie said we’d have more fish than broth with this soup, and I think I needed a bigger bowl to hold it all! I garnished my soup with cilantro, more scallion and chile, a big squeeze of lime juice, as well as a sprinkle of yuzu shichimi togarshi (I skipped the yuzu kosho in the broth). This was spicy and flavorful, and a real treat. Happy holidays!

For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see how the group liked this one.

Everyday Dorie: Clam Chowder My Way

Clam Chowder My Way is chowder with a Thai twist. While “My Way” is really Dorie’s way, I, too, like the flavors of coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, and lime leaf, so I was definitely game to switch-up the standard New England-style chowda. This version still has potatoes, onions, celery and pancetta (or turkey bacon if you’re really doing it my way), so we are keeping some of the familiar in there, too. 

I made this back in March, when I belonged to an oyster CSA so I could host at-home oyster happy hours with friends. I added the “seafood supplement” to my order, and clams would show up in the rotation every few weeks. I made several different simple steamed clam preparations with them, but figured I’d give this soup a go one week. I regard bottled clam juice with some suspicion, although maybe it’s amazing, I don’t know. Since I had fresh clams, which needed pre-cooking to open up their shells, I was able to use the steaming juices in place of the bottled stuff. Using coconut milk instead of heavy cream makes this lighter than a traditional chowder and lets the Thai aromatics shine. I garnished my soup with cilantro and celery leaves, some sliced jalapeño, a squeeze of lime and a dash of fish sauce. I wish I’d saved a few small clams in the shell to put on top, but I always think of better ways to style a photo while I’m actually eating the food! Will I ever learn?

For the recipe, see Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan, and head over to Cook the Book Fridays to see how the group liked this one.