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Holiday Oyster Stew

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Angela's Holiday Oyster Stew

Oyster stew is a traditional Christmas Eve meal. I didn't like any of the recipes I found, so I wrote my own. This is an easy stew to make and very satisfying!
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword creamy oyster stew, holiday, oyster stew
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Author misangela

Ingredients

  • 1 large shallot, small dice (or two smallish ones) sub about 1/4 cup finely diced onion
  • 2 stalks celery, finely sliced
  • 1 med carrot, scrubbed, halved and finely sliced dice if carrot is large; about 1/3 cup
  • 1 med leek, cleaned, halved then finely sliced
  • 1 small fennel bulb, finely diced, about 2/3 cup
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced about 1.5 Tbl
  • olive oil for cooking veg, about 1 Tbl
  • 1 tsp each, S/P use white pepper if you prefer
  • 4 Tbl butter I always use salted
  • 4 Tbl flour, any type
  • 1/4 cup sherry optional
  • 1 med lemon, zest and juice about 1-2Tbl juice, to taste
  • 4 cups fish stock sub veg stock
  • 2 Tbl sherry vinegar sub white wine or champagne vinegar
  • 2 Tbl L&P Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tbl Frank's Hot sauce or whatever you like
  • 1 16oz container shucked oysters with liquor, cut into bite sized pieces (they are LARGE; 4-5 pc EA) OR 1-2 dozen large freshly shucked oysters (SEE NOTES)
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream, up to 3/4 cup, to taste
  • 1/2 cup sour cream or crème fraîche optional, but adds thickness
  • 2 Tbl fresh tarragon, minced +/- to taste; sub basil (use HALF for dry)
  • 1 Tbl fresh mint, minced optional but lovely with tarragon or basil (HALF for dry)
  • 2 Tbl fresh parsley, minced adds freshness, use fresh parsley or omit
  • fennel fronds for garnish

Instructions

  • Do all your prep first. Have all ingredients ready to go.
  • Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat. Cover bottom with olive oil and gently sweat shallot, celery, carrots, leeks, fennel and garlic.
  • When veg is translucent, add butter and when melted, add flour. Stir the flour, butter and veg and turn up the heat to med hi while stirring. 
  • Add lemon zest and sherry, stir. Add fish stock and turn up heat to hi. Bring to boil for one minute, reduce to simmer. 
  • At simmer, add sherry vinegar, L&P, Franks and herbs. Taste for S/P levels. Add oysters and liquor. Cook at simmer for about 10 minutes. 
  • Off heat, add cream, lemon juice and sour cream, then check seasoning one more time.
  • Serve with fennel fronds and a swirl of Franks. Toasted baguette is great for this soup. 

Notes

Do make an effort to use fresh herbs for this stew. They really do make all the difference.
I use a LOT of tarragon because I love fresh tarragon and it goes so well with fennel. Feel free to dial it back if you don't like that anise flavour. Or omit and use basil instead.
I like a bright taste, so I used about 2Tbl lemon juice. Tune the amount to your taste. SAME with the cream. You want a balance between cream and citrus.
If the stew is too thick, thin a bit with water. Mine was too thin, so I doubled the butter and flour.
The pre-shucked oysters are very large, they were cut into 4-5 pcs EACH. If you shuck fresh oysters, you need about 30-40 pcs, so figure your amount that way.
This recipe makes about 2 quarts. It CANNOT be frozen due to the cream.
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Veggie Dip Base Recipe

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Vegetable Dip (base recipe)

This dip recipe can be adapted to many cuisines! I use it often for catering and parties and it's always a hit! See notes for variations.
Course Drinks, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword cream cheese, roasted veg, vegetarian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Author misangela

Equipment

  • Food Processor or Blender

Ingredients

  • 1 8oz block cream cheese you can use reduced fat, but why?
  • 2 red bell peppers, roasted and peeled you can multicolor mini peppers here if you like, use 8
  • 1 6-8" zucchini, halved and roasted about 1.5 - 2 cups chopped
  • 1 small onion, halved and roasted with veg cut side up any color is fine, about 2/3 cup chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced very fine
  • 1/2 tsp each S/P to taste
  • olive oil to roast veg
  • 3 Tbl chopped fresh parsley or other herb, see notes
  • 1 tsp sweet or smoked paprika optional, see notes

Instructions

  • Put cream cheese on counter to warm up while you do the veg.
  • Put prepped veg on a sheet pan and lightly coat in olive oil, salt and pepper. Put peppers cut side down, with zucchini and onion cut side up. Put under the broiler and roast until peppers are charred. Flip onion or take it out if it gets too charred.
  • Cool veg, peel red peppers and cut all into 1-2" chunks.
  • Put all roasted veg and garlic into food processor and whiz until uniform.
  • Add cream cheese in chunks, whiz until smooth.
  • Add paprika and parsley (or other flavorings, see notes) and pulse a couple of times.
  • Check seasonings and serve slightly chilled or room temp. Store in fridge.

Notes

This is a very versatile recipe! It can be changed drastically simply by swapping out veg and changing the herbs and spices. I typically add whatever herbs I've got to this; I've added mint, cilantro, tarragon, basil and thyme at various times. This dip is also a lovely condiment for sammies.
NON Veggie Ham Dip
I had leftover ham from Tgiving, so I whizzed it up and added to the dip. SO GOOD! It can be used for dip or on sandwiches - it reminds me of ham salad. I added about 1.5 cups of ground ham to the base. 
Mexican
  • Add one roasted roma tomato, seeded
    Use cumin and oregano rather than paprika
    Use fresh cilantro rather than parsley
Middle Eastern
  • Use one Chinese eggplant (or very small standard, or 3-4 of the tiny ones) instead of the zucchini
    Add 2 Tbl tahini
    Use cumin in addition to smoked paprika
    Use fresh cilantro and/or mint
Italian
  • Add one roasted roma tomato, seeded
    Add 2 Tbl grated parmesan
    Use dry basil and oregano
    Use fresh basil
Indian
  • Add 2 tsp curry powder instead of paprika
    Or use garam masala
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Greek Okra and Tomato Casserole

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Greek Okra and Tomatoes

I learned this recipe from a Greek mom years ago. I've not made it in forever! But my neighbor gifted me some okra yesterday, so I decided to break out an oldie but a goodie! You can make this without the feta, but I think it's needed to further cut the heavy tomatoes.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine greek
Keyword braised okra and tomatoes, greek okra, okra, tomatoes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Author misangela

Ingredients

  • 1 lb fresh okra (about 4 cups cut), cut 1/4" on bias
  • 1 16oz can crushed tomatoes or whole, crushed by hand
  • 1 small white onion, diced (about 1/2-2/3 cup)
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced (about 1.5 Tbl) More, if desired! This is a garlic forward dish.
  • 1/3 cup EVOO plus some for finishing
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice, 1 Tbl reserved 1 large or 2 small; about 2Tbl juice
  • S/P to taste
  • 1 tsp oregano, dried to taste
  • 2 tsp L&P worcestershire sauce
  • 2-3 Tbl crumbled feta optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375ºF.
  • Mix together all ingredients and pour into a casserole dish sprayed with food release (PAM).
  • Sprinkle feta on top of casserole.
  • Bake for 1.5 hours and check for doneness of veg. This may take 2 hours, depending on your casserole dish depth. You are looking for all the veg to be soft and cooked through.
  • Add reserved lemon juice and a couple of turns of EVOO to casserole after you take it out of the oven.
  • Check for seasoning and serve.

Notes

I served this with meatballs and it was perfect. It would be great with dolmathes as well. 
This casserole is a little tricky to get the tomatoes balanced. Try to get the flavours of the oregano, L&P, lemon juice and S/P very close before you cook. If you're using feta, check seasoning with that since it adds some salt. 
If your casserole dish is a flat square one, the cooking time will be less. I was using a deep oblong dish, so it took a full 2 hrs. This is a braise, so don't rush it. 
The tomatoes and lemon juice should cut the slime of the okra nicely. What you should end up with is a thick casserole, but not slimy. I think this is one of the best ways to prepare okra aside from the Southern way of frying it. 
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Lunette’s Zucchini

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Lunette's Zucchini

This is a side dish from a restaurant I worked in back in the day. It's an unusual pairing of flavours, but VERY savoury and delicious! This is a great recipe to have in your arsenal for when the zucchini comes in and you're swimming in them!
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword dill, sauteed zucchini, worcestershire, zucchini
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Author misangela

Ingredients

  • 1-2 zucchini, 1/4-1/2" slices about 2 cups
  • 1 medium onion, halved then sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbl L&P Worcestershire sauce +/- to taste
  • 2 Tbl butter
  • 1 Tbl dry dill 2Tbl fresh, to taste
  • S/P to taste
  • water as needed

Instructions

  • Heat a large skillet over med high heat. Add water, zucchini, onions and garlic. Bring to simmer.
  • After 3-4 minutes, add butter and dill. Cook zucchini until soft. Do not brown, drop heat to medium if the water is evaporating quickly. Add more water if needed until the zucchini and onions are cooked - about 8-10 minutes. There should be no water left in the pan.
  • Finish with L&P and check seasoning. You want a balance between the L&P and the dill, so use your judgement when finishing the dish.

Notes

Photography by Sheryl Julian from SimplyRecipes.com. 
This side is excellent with lemony chicken or fish. 
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Angela’s Kadhi

I saw this soup on Bon Appétit the other day and was intrigued. The woman who wrote the recipe was very enthusiastic about it, so I wanted to try it. I made the recipe as it was written, but I really disliked all the whole spices. While the Indian woman loved chomping cumin seeds and whole peppercorns, I found the cumin very overpowering to the dish. Here is my version that is served without the seeds. I also altered some of the other ingredients. Try to find asafoetida! It is a strong spice blend, but does add umami in a very Indian way. (You can order it from Amazon.)

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Angela's Kadhi

This is an Indian turmeric yogurt soup. It is traditionally served with all the spices whole, but I found it to be unappealing to chew on cumin, black peppercorns and cloves. This is my version that is seedless.
Course Soup
Cuisine Indian
Keyword Indian yogurt soup, kadhi, yogurt turmeric soup
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Author misangela

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk yogurt, not Greek
  • 1/3 cup chickpea flour sub a/p flour (but do try to use chickpea)
  • 1 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds sub plain mustard seeds
  • 3 Tbl ghee 1.5 Tbl used in two places; sub olive oil, but ghee is preferred
  • 2 tsp fenugreek seeds 1 tsp used in two places
  • 2 tsp whole cumin seeds 1 tsp used in two places
  • 2 tsp kosher salt more if needed
  • juice and zest of one lime
  • 3 dried chiles chile de arbol is perfect
  • 1 tsp asafoetida specialty Indian spice; sub 1/2 tsp onion powder + 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne or Indian red pepper
  • 2 tsp sugar optional, I like the balance it gives
  • 4 cups water

Instructions

  • Mix together the yogurt, chickpea flour and turmeric. Add one cup water and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
  • In a large soup pot over medium heat, add 1 1/2 Tbl ghee, cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns, mustard seeds, 1 tsp fenugreek seeds and 1 tsp cumin seeds. Cook spices in ghee until the mustard seeds pop. Turn heat down to low. Add 3 cups water and the yogurt mixture. Season with 2 tsp salt and lime zest.
  • Turn heat to med high (high if needed) and stir constantly until soup reaches a boil. When a boil is reached, turn down heat to retain a light boil. Do not stir at this point and put a long handled wooden spoon in the soup to keep it from boiling over. If it starts to boil over, reduce the heat a bit. Cook at a light boil for 10 minutes (or until desired thickness).
  • 5 minutes before the soup is done, put remaining ghee in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add remaining fenugreek and cumin seeds and toast until cumin browns a little. If you don't want so much cumin, reduce amount or omit it. Remove from heat and add chiles, asafoetida and cayenne.
  • When the soup has reduced and become creamy, take off the heat and strain out the spices (if desired). Stir in half the lime juice (or more if you like) and sugar. Check salt levels. You can serve with the spices in the ghee or strain them out. Do not eat the chiles, they are for flavoring only. For service, I swirl the spiced ghee on top of the soup as pictured, but you can stir it into the whole pot of soup if you wish.

Notes

You can serve kadhi over rice if you want a heartier dish. 
Ghee and asafoetida are specialty items, but worth tracking down if you want an authentic Indian flavor.