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Thing Thirty-Four: Sister's Stew
May. 22nd, 2013 10:24 amThis is rather belated, as I made this dish a while ago, but I keep forgetting to write it up!
If you've read George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, you know that he is generous--lavish, really--in his descriptions of the foods eaten by the characters. This is something I've always liked in a book. It's not just because I'm so incredibly obsessed with food and cooking, but also because I feel that it engages the senses, making the world of the book seem more real and tangible, and giving you more information about what it's really like there. If a character is eating bread and cheese, it creates a different feel than if they're eating roast duck glazed with honey and wine, or squid and noodles with mouth-searing spices, or a rich beef stew with potatoes and parsnips. Plain, decadent, exotic, homey...food sets the stage.
Martin knows this, and makes full use of it in the world of this series, a world where different kinds of food are served in different regions and by different social classes. The nobles in the capital dine on quails drowned in butter. The Night's Watch in the far cold north keep warm with a hearty pork pie. The people of warm Dorne, in the south, snack on stuffed grape leaves. And those who live on the islands called the Three Sisters eat--of course--a lot of seafood. On a wet cold night in seafood-abundant places, what's better than a nice hot chowder-style fish stew? The answer, as you may guess, is "nothing." Fortunately, two fans of the series who also love to cook have written A Feast of Ice and Fire, with recipes inspired by the books. Some are based on medieval or other traditional (Victorian, etc.) recipes, with modern reinterpretations alongside. Others are completely new. The only one I've tried so far has been Sister's Stew, the chowder-like yumminess I just mentioned.
I first tried it on Christmas Eve, when my man and I were invited to a friend's parents' home to share their Italian-style "feast of seven fishes," since my own family had decided not to do anything special this year. My friend, a fellow geek and lover of Martin's series, made the Sister's Stew as his contribution. It was amazing, and it convinced me to buy the cookbook.
I made it myself the other night, though with a few changes from the recipe as written. I'm actually not going to go into detail on the process, partly because I don't remember it all off the top of my head. Suffice it to say, though, that the stew contained cod (the most buttery and flavorful of all white fish, IMO), crabmeat, baby clams (both canned, sadly), leeks, and the surprising ingredients: turnips, barley, and saffron. The turnip surprised me when I first had it, because I'm used to potatoes in my chowders. I was struck by how wonderfully they went with the dish, though, adding a subtle sweetness to it that I liked a lot. The barley is something I'm used to in beef stews, not seafood ones, but it was chewy and hearty, thickening the stew and making it really filling and satisfying. The saffron gave the dish a lovely pale gold color, and added just a hint of that inimitable taste, both floral and earthy. Wonderful. Instead of using part heavy cream and part evaporated milk, I used just evaporated milk. The dish was plenty rich, and had less cholesterol and fat as a result. I may even replace half of the evaporated milk with the nonfat version next time I do this. It stands up to cooking better than fresh milk. I also used a commercial seafood stock (Penzey's seafood base in water) instead of making a fish stock by boiling part of the cod for a while, which meant I didn't need to add much salt.
So. If you like these books, and if you like food (and if you don't like food, what are you doing reading my LJ, really?), I highly recommend A Feast of Ice and Fire. I can't wait to try more recipes!
If you've read George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, you know that he is generous--lavish, really--in his descriptions of the foods eaten by the characters. This is something I've always liked in a book. It's not just because I'm so incredibly obsessed with food and cooking, but also because I feel that it engages the senses, making the world of the book seem more real and tangible, and giving you more information about what it's really like there. If a character is eating bread and cheese, it creates a different feel than if they're eating roast duck glazed with honey and wine, or squid and noodles with mouth-searing spices, or a rich beef stew with potatoes and parsnips. Plain, decadent, exotic, homey...food sets the stage.
Martin knows this, and makes full use of it in the world of this series, a world where different kinds of food are served in different regions and by different social classes. The nobles in the capital dine on quails drowned in butter. The Night's Watch in the far cold north keep warm with a hearty pork pie. The people of warm Dorne, in the south, snack on stuffed grape leaves. And those who live on the islands called the Three Sisters eat--of course--a lot of seafood. On a wet cold night in seafood-abundant places, what's better than a nice hot chowder-style fish stew? The answer, as you may guess, is "nothing." Fortunately, two fans of the series who also love to cook have written A Feast of Ice and Fire, with recipes inspired by the books. Some are based on medieval or other traditional (Victorian, etc.) recipes, with modern reinterpretations alongside. Others are completely new. The only one I've tried so far has been Sister's Stew, the chowder-like yumminess I just mentioned.
I first tried it on Christmas Eve, when my man and I were invited to a friend's parents' home to share their Italian-style "feast of seven fishes," since my own family had decided not to do anything special this year. My friend, a fellow geek and lover of Martin's series, made the Sister's Stew as his contribution. It was amazing, and it convinced me to buy the cookbook.
I made it myself the other night, though with a few changes from the recipe as written. I'm actually not going to go into detail on the process, partly because I don't remember it all off the top of my head. Suffice it to say, though, that the stew contained cod (the most buttery and flavorful of all white fish, IMO), crabmeat, baby clams (both canned, sadly), leeks, and the surprising ingredients: turnips, barley, and saffron. The turnip surprised me when I first had it, because I'm used to potatoes in my chowders. I was struck by how wonderfully they went with the dish, though, adding a subtle sweetness to it that I liked a lot. The barley is something I'm used to in beef stews, not seafood ones, but it was chewy and hearty, thickening the stew and making it really filling and satisfying. The saffron gave the dish a lovely pale gold color, and added just a hint of that inimitable taste, both floral and earthy. Wonderful. Instead of using part heavy cream and part evaporated milk, I used just evaporated milk. The dish was plenty rich, and had less cholesterol and fat as a result. I may even replace half of the evaporated milk with the nonfat version next time I do this. It stands up to cooking better than fresh milk. I also used a commercial seafood stock (Penzey's seafood base in water) instead of making a fish stock by boiling part of the cod for a while, which meant I didn't need to add much salt.
So. If you like these books, and if you like food (and if you don't like food, what are you doing reading my LJ, really?), I highly recommend A Feast of Ice and Fire. I can't wait to try more recipes!
