Quick Weeknight Fish Stew with Olives by Alison Roman

“Are there any recipes you’re really not looking forward to making?” - at least 100 people 

“Yeah, there’s this fish stew recipe with olives.” - me 

(360 days later)

“Really, you’re gonna let a stew stand between you and accomplishing your goal? Suck it up.” - this project 
“........................................... Fine.” - me 

the makings of a good broth

If I sound like a broken record, I’m sorry. But I have to tell the truth! Once again, this stew was surprisingly better than I thought it would be. Will I make it again? Probably not. But at least I didn’t suffer while eating it. (If you’re new to the blog, please know that if you love seafood stew, you’ll probably love this — seafood stew just ain’t my thing.) 

What I liked most was the tomato-based broth. I chose to use a ripe, medium-sized tomato instead of a can of diced tomatoes (Alison gives us the option). Fresh tomato was definitely the way to go. It gave a subtler tomato taste and color to the stew than canned would have, which I found to be just enough to brighten things up. The broth also contains toasted shallot rings and garlic slices, reduced white wine, chili flakes, bay leaves, and water. Just reading that ingredient list tells you it’s got to be a solid broth base. 

The seafood part, now that’s where I falter. The recipe calls for cod (which we’ve established tastes too fishy), mussels (my first time buying my own mussels!), and shrimp (yes, more shrimp). Mussels are cooked first using the same method as you’d use with clams — nestling them in hot liquid and covering your pot with a lid to create steam. Within five or so minutes, those babies were opened. Cod and shrimp also need time to cook in the broth with the lid on, which took only another six minutes. 

The olives and herbs really brought everything together. I opted for crushed Castelvetrano olives over black olives for their obviously superior flavor. Finely chopped parsley and dill added an element of freshness and vibrant color that really helped with appetite appeal. I made a half-recipe and ate about a fourth of it. Jordan had a few bites too, but we got no where near to finishing it. 

As far as the recipe title goes, this recipe is relatively “quick” when it comes to stews, but it still takes a good bit of ingredient preparation and comes together in about 45 minutes. I guess it all depends on your definition of “quick.” 

Thank God that’s over with. 

220 recipes cooked, 5 to go.

Yogurt-Marinated Leg of Lamb with Spicy Fennel and Sumac By Alison Roman

This past Monday I cooked a whole leg of lamb for 8 people. I’d been nervously anticipating this meal for months. From my first spin through Nothing Fancy, the sight of this recipe — Yogurt-Marinated Leg of Lamb, totally intimidated me. I knew I’d have to save it for last, figuring I’d need at least a year’s worth of cooking practice before I could safely attempt to deal with the entire leg of a large animal...

I was right and I was wrong.

I was wrong because even with a year of intentional cooking under my belt, I still messed up. Alison gives two sets of instructions in the recipe for roasting and braising. I went the braising route because she says it’s less scary and more foolproof. I covered the lamb and its baking dish with aluminum foil and stuck it in the oven at 300 degrees for the minimum time listed: 3 hours. But I don’t think the foil stayed tightly wrapped the whole time, and thus, too much steam escaped, allowing the meat to dry out some.

I should have checked it part way through, as an insurance policy. But part of me felt like checking on meat before it’s supposed to be done was “the old Annie.” The old Annie who doubted herself and the process. In her many meat recipes, Alison routinely says things like “resist the temptation to peak” or “don’t even bother peaking until the timer goes off - it won’t be ready before then, I promise”. I tried to actually followed her advice for once. (I’m not blaming her for the fail, but you get the point.) To be clear, the lamb wasn’t ruined — the flavor rocked, and the meat was still tender. But did it fall apart at the touch the way Alison describes? Definitely not.

I was also right that this recipe should be saved for the end because after a year’s worth of intentional cooking, I’ve seen great improvement in my ability to get something wrong and not feel ashamed about it.

A year ago, I would have been mortified the moment I cut into the lamb and realized what had happened. I can just picture the way my cheeks would have reddened and my heart started to pound. And to be sure, that was a temptation for me last Monday. But only for a moment. Instead, I paused and thought, “That’s what this whole process is about, right? Learning — getting it wrong so you can eventually get it right. Your friends are here to join you in that project, not to consume something perfect.”

As my friends sat around the table, I stood to give an introduction to the meal. At the end, I explained that the lamb didn’t turn out the way I had hoped. It wasn’t tough, but it was dry. But then I said, mostly for myself, that I was grateful that they agreed to participate in my project — a project that emphasized learning over perfection. And I sat down, unashamed.

If you know me personally, you know that this kind of moment is a huge marker of growth. 

The lamb is served atop a bed of thinly sliced fennel and herbs marinated in red pepper flakes and lemon juice - and truly, it was exactly what the lamb needed to balance its saltiness. Alison doesn’t mention this, but after 3 hours of braising, the sliced fennel bulb that cooks underneath the lamb in the braising liquid is soft and infused with all of the lamb’s spices - fennel seed and cumin seed. I scooped them out of the baking dish and tossed them with the fresh fennel slices before laying the slices of lamb on top. It added even more flavor and substance to the dish. I served the lamb, sprinkled with sumac, alongside a bowl of sour cream. 

And thus marked my second to last All-Out-Alison meal of the project: 

219 recipes cooked, 6 to go.

Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Farro and Watercress by Alison Roman

For the past 8 months, the vinegar-braised chicken recipe  has sat unwritten in my blog’s Google Doc. Every time I saw the title sitting there, unaccompanied, I opted to write about another recipe. I didn’t have much to say about this chicken when I first made it, but now I’ve really put myself in a pickle because I can’t remember anything about how I made it or how it tasted. All I know is that I made it on April 5, 2021 because there’s photo evidence that tells me as much. 

What I can deduce from all of this is that the chicken wasn’t a ton to write home about. I had to skip on the farro because of my gluten-aversion, which left only watercress and a simple roasted chicken to try. This recipe also has one of the shortest ingredient lists of all of Alison’s main course dishes, leaving the burden of flavor to just salt, pepper, vinegar, garlic, and a tablespoon of Yuzu Kosho. 

Now hear me out, there are plenty of tasty chickens that use the same small amount of ingredients for flavor. But such a short list is off brand for Alison. One of her defining features is bold, in-your-face flavor. She doesn’t hold back. Which is why this recipe felt like a departure from her normal routine. 

Perhaps I’d find this chicken refreshing if I made it again. I’ll probably give it a try! If you’re reading this and felt differently, please tell me? 

216 recipes cooked, 9 to go.

Swordfish-like Steak with Crispy Capers by Alison Roman

I made this dish — well, actually my brother mostly made this dish — using a .4 lb. swordfish steak, which we split between 6 people. I’m at the point where I’ve eaten more seafood in one year than I have in my entire lifetime, so I was not about to buy 16 oz. of swordfish. 

Swordfish itself is rather dense, on the drier side, and dons a distinctly fishy taste. It’s not a personal favorite. Neither is it a favorite of my family members, who generally stay away from anything fishy and stick to the occasional salmon filet once or twice a year. (We’re from coastal Orange County and we still don’t have a pallet for seafood!) But somehow, each family member enjoyed their bite of this fish. I think, because it was dominated by salty, buttery, and briny flavors. The fishiness hit last. 

The assembly is rather simple. Season the swordfish with salt and pepper, and sear it in a skillet until golden brown on each side. Then add butter, a smashed garlic clove, an anchovy, and chopped capers. Let the butter melt, then use it to baste the fish, scooping it up and over the steak for several minutes. The whole process takes about 12 minutes. 

The fish was like a salty umami bomb. I’d recommend forgoing the anchovy in this case. It seemed to be what put the fish over the edge in the salt category. Everyone enjoyed their one bite, remarking that that was all they needed to enjoy the fish. 

215 recipes cooked, 10 to go.

Littleneck Clams with Green Garlic and Leftover Wine by Alison Roman

I started this project as a complete clam novice: how to cook them, how to eat them, the fact that there are different kinds of clams — I hadn't the slightest idea. I remember feeling very intimidated by the task of ordering them at the grocery seafood counter. Even more intimidating was the thought of cooking them. And then, after just one attempt, I realized that clams are perhaps the most foolproof seafood I could ever cook. 

As long as you’ve scrubbed their shells (they tend to have gunk stuck to the outside that will come off with a little handling under cold, running water), placed them in a hot pot with a lid and a bit of liquid to create steam, and can physically shake a pot back and forth a few times, clams are a piece of cake. (Cake is better than clams, tbh, but let’s not get into semantics.) 

The parsley butter took more work than the clams in this recipe. I already had my food processor on the counter from making green romesco for Alison’s four-bean salad, so I opted to use it for smashing the butter, parsley and garlic clove together. Some people have asked how I decided when to make certain recipes. One answer is laziness. “You mean I don’t have to dig out my food processor and clean it a second time?”

Once my clams were cleaned and ready, I started by sizzling a finely grated garlic clove in some olive oil in my Dutch oven. After it released its fragrance, I poured in some leftover Sav Blanc (and yes, this was like 6-day old wine from the fridge that honestly tasted just fine for this purpose.) Once the wine had reduced, I placed the clams in the pot and fit the lid so they could steam. I made just a half recipe, which reduced the wine needed to just two Tbsp. But even that little bit of wine was enough to cook the clams and infuse them with plenty of flavor. Once opened, the clams were ready for dollops of parsley butter. It took some coaxing to get the globs to land into each open shell. 

Pro tip: when removing hot clams from a pot, don’t be foolish. Wear an oven mitt or use tongs. You will burn your fingers otherwise. Just ask my thumb and forefinger. 

The remaining melted butter and clam juice provide a nice warming liquid for the can of cannelini beans added at the end. I served it all with lemon wedges and sourdough bread, along with a lemony kale salad. 

Jordan didn’t love this dish — he said it was too salty, which must have come from the clams themselves because I added very little salt myself. I felt that there was a bitterness to the dish, a sort of soft sourness that’s hard to describe otherwise. Maybe the wine was too far gone? Maybe this needed something creamy to balance the bitter? I think I’ll stick with Alison’s other clam recipes in the future, particularly her Clams and Cod in Heavy Cream (minus the cod - just the clams) and her Clam Pasta with Chorizo and Walnuts. 

214 recipes cooked, 11 to go.