Witchy Kitchen

Tag: stew

  • Get Hooked on Southport Fisherman’s Stew

    Get Hooked on Southport Fisherman’s Stew

    I like typically well regarded films. I gravitate toward arthouse films, heavy with plot and symbolism, featuring nuanced, often heartbreaking performances. I appreciate artistic vision, thoughtful scores, clever screenwriting. High scoring films on Rotten Tomatoes! I like good movies.

    I also LOVE late 90s/early 2000s teen horror! It’s not that these movies aren’t good or lack the aforementioned qualities. I’ll argue they’re great, the iconic Scream especially, just that they’re not exactly regarded as high art or as “transcending genre” as some (not me) like to say. If you believe in guilty pleasures (yes me. Somehow the concept just makes it feel more fun), you can safely call these guilty pleasures.

    The Faculty, Urban Legend, Disturbing Behavior – at the risk of dating myself, I was the perfect age for these movies when they came out and saw a lot of them in the theater, munching nervously on popcorn and gasping at jump scares with my school friends. I’ll admit that a lot of my affinity is rooted in nostalgia. But with entertaining storylines, beautiful actors in glorious 90s fashion, and slick references to horror classics, these movies are genuinely, unironically valuable, not to mention very fun.

    I Know What You Did Last Summer, the 1997 slasher written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Jim Gillespie, is quintessential teen horror. It features a collection of actors who seem like they were in every late 90s movie (Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillipe, Freddie Prinze Jr.), and a distinctive villain characterized by his fisherman’s jacket and hook.

    It was filmed largely in the quaint beach town of Southport, North Carolina, and as I spent my summers as a kid on the Carolina coast, this was another draw for me. The small town is atmospheric, and is instrumental in demonstrating how everyone’s lives fell apart after the inciting incident. It’s tragic when Helen escapes to New York to be an actress and then has to return somewhat humiliated when “it didn’t work out.” It’s tragic when Ray becomes a fisherman and it’s implied that he’ll never leave and that’s all he’ll ever be. Southport, which seemed charming at the beginning of the film, when the friends were happy and carefree, becomes a symbol of their guilt and failure.

    I’m definitely on a regional seafood kick this summer (see last month’s Jaws-inspired Amity Island Shrimp Boats), so for a recipe, I immediately thought of Fisherman’s Stew. The North Carolina version of this dish is one of those that is traditionally made in a huge pot for a crowd, a la Frogmore Stew or other seafood boils, though this particular recipe is family-sized. Bacon is crisped up to later be crumbled on top, then a tomatoey mixture is cooked to season the broth. Then, potatoes, onions and garlic, and a firm fish (like red drum, sheepshead, cod, or even snapper like Julie’s mom makes for her when she returns home) are layered, brothed up and simmered – no stirring! Lastly, a layer of eggs are cooked on top.

    Serve topped with hot sauce and crusty bread or cornbread for sopping. What are you waiting for?

    Southport Fisherman’s Stew

    • ½ pound bacon cut into 2-inch pieces (my kids don’t eat pork so I used turkey bacon. It’s not as oily, so if using, add some cooking oil to help it fry)
    • 6 ounce can tomato paste
    • large pinch or two chili flakes
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2 pounds red potatoes, peeled and sliced (you can put them in a large bowl of cold water while you prep so they don’t turn brown)
    • 1 large onion, quartered and sliced
    • 4 cloves garlic, sliced
    • 2 pounds firm fish (I used cod), cut into 2-inch chunks
    • 6 eggs
    • Salt to taste

    eat a pot and cook bacon, stirring, until crisp. Remove and reserve.

    Stir tomato paste into the hot oil, along with chili flakes. Stir for just a minute and remove from heat.

    Add bay leaves and layer the other ingredients twice, sprinkling each layer with salt. Add enough water to just cover. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, until fish is cooked through and potatoes are tender but not falling apart, about 15 minutes. Check the broth for seasoning, add more salt if desired.

    Crack eggs in a single layer on top and poach.

    Serve topped with sliced/crumbled bacon, hot sauce, and crusty bread or cornbread.

    First published on Nightmare on Film Street.

  • Gollum Stew

    Gollum Stew

    It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,
    Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.
    It lies behind stars and under hills,
    And empty holes it fills.
    It comes first, and follows after,
    Ends life, kills laughter.

    In honor of Hobbit Day (September 22), the Fandom Foodies theme of the month is The Hobbit, hosted by In Literature. Use #HobbitMonth to find lots of Hobbit-themed dishes this month!

    My favorite vignette from The Hobbit is Riddles in the Dark, where Bilbo encounters the precioussss, slimy Gollum and they play a game of riddles, during which Gollum decides whether or not he wants to eat the little hobbit that has wandered into his lair. It’s a delightfully creepy scene, and as I was also an obnoxious, smartypants kid, the cleverness of it was fun for me.

    Though it’s said that Gollum subsists on fishes and the odd goblin that gets lost in his cave, I started dreaming of what other slimy, swampy food might be available. I put together this stew, seaweed steeped in a lovely broth rich with sweetness and umami, with earthy mushrooms and watery lotus root. Lest it veer too far into Asian territory, I flavored it with ginger, peppercorns, and clove reminiscent of Medieval Europe’s ubiquitous savory spice mix poudre fort. If Gollum gets hungry and tired of fishes, this stew is a slurpy alternative.

    Gollum Stew

    For the broth

    Slightly adapted from Bon Appetit’s Vegan Umami Broth

    • 3 tablespoons white miso
    • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
    • 2 onions, thinly sliced, skins reserved
    • 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
    • 1 celery stalk, thinkly sliced
    • 1 head garlic, halved
    • 8 dried shitake mushrooms
    • 4 6×4 pieces kombu
    • 1 tablespoon peppercorns
    • 6 cloves
    • 2 slices ginger

    Heat oven to 300° Whisk together miso, vegetable oil, and 2 tablespoons water. On a baking sheet, toss onions, carrots, celery, garlic, shitake mushrooms, and kombu with the miso mixture and arrange in a single layer. Bake for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours until caramelized.

    Transfer vegetables to a pot with 4 quarts cold water, peppercorns, cloves, and ginger. Simmer for about an hour and strain.

    For the stew

    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
    • 6 ounces lotus root (about half a lotus root, I used a package of slices), peeled, halved, and sliced
    • 2 green onions, whites and greens divided and sliced
    • 1 ounce dried wakame seaweed, cut or broken into long strips
    • vegetable broth (see above)
    • salt and white pepper to taste

    In a pot, heat the vegetable oil, and cook the mushrooms until liquid is released but before they brown. Add lotus root, green onions, and white pepper and cook until onions are wilted. Add seaweed and about 3 cups vegetable broth (more if you’d like a soupier consistency). Cook on a low simmer for about 15 minutes, check seasoning, and serve hot or warm garnished with green onion.