Chapter Nine: Let’s Eat!

After a turbulent night, any weary adventurer would naturally crave comfort. A hungry Elie sums things up admirably: something “hot and filling” is required. The bottomless pot of fish soup at the Ship’s Prow, prepared by the charming tavern keeper, Jhambrote, seems to fit the bill. And, since this is the family-friendly, recipe section of the blog, and since we do not have a helpful barkeep to, er, serve us, this is what we’re going with. We will settle for the mood boost that a lovely fish soup is sure to bring…

Ship’s Prow Fish Soup

Does not make a bottomless pot. But will serve 10-12 quite comfortably.

During a road trip through New England a couple of years ago, I ate a light and creamy fish soup. It was not overly starchy. There was no taste of undercooked flour. And it was not gluey or gloopy like all too many chowders seem to be. I’m looking at you New England Clam Wallpaper Paste…

Armed with the clear taste memory of a soup where the dominant flavor was sweet, fresh fish and where, despite the addition of potatoes and dairy, the final result was not at all heavy, I started to research recipes from the area. What I discovered is that most – not all, it will never be all 😉 – cooks and authors decree that the fish to use is haddock. And there is general agreement that a salty, porky base should provide the frying fat for the onions. Finally, potatoes are the only thickening agent; flour is not included. Beyond that, there is only slightly  withering disdain aimed at those who insist on making the dish too rich (use milk instead of cream!) or too complicated (no herbs needed, rely on the flavor of the fish!). 

But this is me. Creamy and complicated are practically required for admission to my recipes. And we are currently based in Waterdeep, not New England. I decided to boldly cast off anything that smacked of Puritanical austerity. And go full unabashed Mirt on this dish! 

In all seriousness, I judged that I could safely tweak a few things while retaining the lightness – the celebration of flaking, succulent white fish – that is the entire delightful identity of this soup.

I switched out some of the cream for white wine to obtain a little more acidity and a more nuanced flavor. And snuck in just a tiny bit of thyme, marjoram, and lovage. 

I went with Yukon Gold potatoes because they are so pretty and they make me happy! Plus they taste buttery and maintain their chunky integrity when cooked. A higher starch spud, like a Russet, would more traditionally be used in a chowder. But would inevitably disintegrate a little too much, making the soup overly murky and stodgy. 

Finally, I channeled Julia Child in parboiling the diced salt pork before launching into the rest of the preparation. This is something that many of her recipes using lardons of bacon recommend doing. I think it is to remove the excess salt. That is why I did it, at any rate. The salt pork that I bought was crystalline and crackling with salinity. My mouth felt parched just looking at it. And I remembered that, on the one prior occasion when I used this particular preserved product in a recipe (I’m looking at you New England Clam Wall Paper etc…) simply rinsing it and avoiding the addition of any more salt to the dish was not enough. There were definite, inedible echoes of Bender cooking for the crew in Futurama! 🙂 

Boiling the pork dice briefly was effective in taming the salt. Even if it did make the kitchen smell distressingly barn-yardy. Thankfully, the fragrance of frying onion quickly took care of the excess porkiness…

Then, very much not in the spirit of simple New England fishermen, huddling against the bitter northern winters just trying to inoffensively salt their pork, and cook their fish, and, you know, survive, I preciously garnished the completed soup with a drizzle of olive oil, a generous sprinkling of chopped chives, and the burnished, crunchy pieces of fried pork. 

Some (perhaps all) may argue that the bottomless, endlessly bubbling cauldron of seafood soup at the Ship’s Prow, where every day saw that morning’s left-over catch tossed in to bulk up the ancient fishy stock, would be precisely the muddy, heavy, stick-to-the-fish-bones, creation that I am striving to avoid. Well, those irritating people are probably right. 

But I am very happy with the light and fresh soup that I am sharing with you. It is not exactly that fondly-remembered holiday-chowder but it does bring back lovely memories of our time in Connecticut and Maine. New England is one of the most beautiful places that I have been lucky enough to visit and I very much look forward to going back…

Ingredients:

4x8cm piece/1 cup salt pork fatback, rinsed, diced into 1cm/1/2 inch cubes

30g/2 tblsp unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1.25g/1/4 tsp dried thyme

2.5g/1/2 tsp dried marjoram

2.5g/1/2 tsp dried lovage

Salt and pepper to taste

250ml/1 cup dry white wine

5-7 Yukon Gold potatoes, washed, peeled, and roughly chopped

500ml/2 cups heavy cream

750ml/3 cups fish stock (can also use water or clam juice)

1kg/2lb haddock fillets (can also use cod, hake, tilapia, or other preferred white flaky fish)

Method:

1. Place salt pork cubes in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Strain, immediately rinse with cold water, and set aside to dry off a little.
2. Place the parboiled pork cubes in a large pot and fry over low-medium heat. They will spit and spatter, so a splash guard is recommended. Cook gently until most of the fat has rendered and the remaining golden nuggets are crips and browned up. Remove those crackling bits with a slotted spoon or spatula and set aside to use as a (still very salty) garnish.
3. Add chopped onion to the melted fat and sauté until glassy and sweet.
4. Mix in the minced garlic and stir until just fragrant.
5. If insufficient fat has rendered and/or if you like the luscious taste sensation of a little extra butter, add the 30g/2 tblsp of butter to the pan at this point, along with your dry herbs and pepper.
6. Add the white wine and stir to deglaze any goodness that may have built up on the bottom of the pot. Increase heat to medium-high and reduce the wine until you are left with a syrupy, oniony mixture.
7. Add the potatoes to the pan, stir, and then pour in the cream and enough fish stock to generously cover the vegetables.
8. Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender when poked with a fork. Taste for salt cautiously. Add some if needed.
9. Lightly season the fish pieces with salt and pepper. Gently layer the haddock over the raft of potatoes, cover the pot, lower the heat, and allow the fish to steam in all of the wine-rich, garlicky, herby fumes for 10-15 minutes. When tender, spoon over some of the creamy soup over the fish, turn off the heat, cover again, and allow the soup to sit and the flavors to infuse until ready to serve.
10. To serve, spoon generous amounts of potatoes and soup into bowls, top with several pieces of fish, and garnish with some of the fried salt pork cubes. Sprinkle with chives and drizzle a little olive oil over the dish. Dig in!

Notes: This is very tasty when allowed to sit in the fridge overnight, gathering fishy potency. It does not freeze well (the potatoes turn mealy and mushy). Served with the rest of the wine used to cook the soup, along with a crusty bread and a sprightly salad, this makes a very satisfying meal.

Sister’s Cheese and Garden Vegetable Salad

Makes approximately 5-6 cups

This is actually my father’s well-loved recipe for a creamy cheese salad that we have, for many years now, enjoyed as part of a weekend breakfast spread. But that seems appropriate: both he and Sister are tall, both often choose to remain stoically silent around more chatty companions, and both are happy in Nature.  Plus both are hairy.

Tangy farmer’s cheese is combined with pungent garlic and onion, the fresh crunch of radishes, and the egginess of eggs. It is even more of a tasty and vibrant recipe when made the day before. So that all of the flavors have time to, ahem, egg each other on to reach their full odiferous potential…

Anyway, Sister would surely approve of the strategy for eating this: make sure to only enjoy this dish together with a small and beloved group of companions. Those with whom you do not mind spending time and sharing smells. Do not plan on venturing out to meet strangers: you will be going forth surrounded by your own poisonous fumes and are unlikely to make a positive impression.

Ingredients:

1kg/2lb of farmer cheese (twaróg if you are shopping in a Slavic grocery store) or quark – can substitute cottage cheese blitzed into smooth creaminess in a food processor, fresh ricotta, cream cheese, or a combination of these. Adding salt and lemon juice as needed to perk up the flavor and accepting whatever pleasant texture surprise may result from using these different cheeses.

80ml/1/3 cup heavy cream – may need less or more of this, depending on the consistency of your cheese

4 hard-boiled eggs, whites fairly finely chopped and yolks crushed ruthlessly with a fork

2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1/2 small-medium red onion, finely chopped

5-8 radishes, about 1 handful, roughly chopped

1 scallion, chopped

1 small bunch dill, finely chopped

5g/1 tsp Dijon mustard

5g/1 tsp granulated sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a large bowl, mix the cheese and enough of the cream together to obtain a soft, scoop-able consistency. It should not be dry or crumbly. Nor should it be runny and dip-like. Goldilocks it! A nice spreadable cheese salad is good because it can double as a sandwich spread.
2. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the cheese and cream. Mix well to combine.
3. Taste and adjust seasoning. You are looking for an acid-forward salad and, depending on how tangy your chosen cheese is, you may want to add a little lemon juice or vinegar. There should also be a good balance of creamy, salty, sweet, and peppery. 
4. Store the prepared salad in the fridge until ready to eat. It is best if allowed to sit for at least 1-2 hours for the flavors to come together. It is really good after a full night refrigerated. And will keep well for 3-5 days. It does not respond happily to freezing.

Notes: On the day that I made this salad and photographed it, I could not get farmer’s cheese and so I used the cottage cheese substitute. Mixed in the food processor with some mascarpone cheese that I found in the fridge. This resulted in a rather looser mixture than I like.  But very rich. I did not add any additional cream at all. I did need to add a half lemon’s worth of juice to bring it up to proper acidity. Also, I did not have dill.

This may be enjoyed with sliced raw vegetables (crisp lettuce leaves, celery, sweet peppers) or with bread. We typically have it as part of a Polish breakfast with an assortment of other hearty goodies such as bread or rolls,  hard-boiled eggs with a variety of mayonnaise-centric toppings, cold meats, smoked fish, cheeses, vegetables, and pickles (see image above for one example). This tames its dragon-breath power. Just a little…