New year, new flavors

by Shauna Ferry

January can bring on such a whirlwind of emotions. There’s relief that the hustle and bustle of shopping for presents, visiting family, decorations, Christmas music, and cooking elaborate meals is finally over, but then there’s sadness that the energy and cheer are gone.

You’re supposed to go into the new year with that fresh “new year, new me” attitude, but sometimes its difficult to pack away all the decorations and get back into the same old routine. For many, this is where New Year’s resolutions come into play – they’re about looking forward to accomplishing goals in the new year and achieving that fresh start.

I’ve never been very good with resolutions. I either set the bar so high I get overwhelmed within the first week (diet, gym, cleaning routine, beauty routine, etc.) or I just don’t take anything on at all because I’m too jetlagged from holiday madness. This year I didn’t really set a resolution, but rather a weekly challenge: to cook a new meaI each week that I’ve never made before using as many locally made items as possible.

Back in November, I made a charcuterie board with many different locally made food items (check out the South Coast Prime Times Jan/Feb 2023 issue). It was so fun and I learned about so many small businesses in and around the South Coast that I had never heard of before! Since then, I changed the way I shop and I’m so much more excited to try making new food.

My first meal I decided to conquer wasn’t anything specific, but I knew the focus was going to be seafood. I decided on a fish dish with boiled potatoes, a vegetable, and a very specific Portuguese sauce my family avidly makes, and which I had never made myself, called molho de vilao (fried fish sauce). My first stop was Kyler’s Seafood in New Bedford. I absolutely love Kyler’s and I highly recommend them. Their prices are great, and their fish is always fresh. I purchased 1.7lbs of fresh cod and a dozen oysters. My husband and I love raw oysters, so it was a little treat for us to start off with. The next day, I went over to the farmer’s market in Westport. Skinny Dip Farm out of Little Compton had a huge variety of fresh vegetables, so I made my way over and purchased parsley and large-leaf spinach. I had no idea there was even such a thing as large-leaf spinach, and as a spinach lover I was excited and impressed. I couldn’t wait to cook it!

On my way home I stopped at Lee’s market in Westport, which is a cute little market with an abundance of local items. I was on the hunt for potatoes and cocktail sauce. I grabbed two pounds of white potatoes, grown and distributed by Sampson’s Farm in Westport. It’s always great to support other farmers from town.

I then made my way over to the cocktail sauce. I was confident I’d find one made in or around the South Coast, and my first pick comes straight from Warwick: Backyard Food Co.’s Olde New England Cocktail Sauce. Backyard Food Company was started by two friends who enjoyed gardening, which then turned into canning and making sauces, and became the lucrative business it is today.

Putting it all together

I started with the sauce because it incorporates a lot of garlic and I wanted to let it simmer. The recipe below just served as a foundation for me and I didn’t follow it exactly. I peeled around 15 cloves of garlic for my sauce. This may be a lot for some, but my family and I really enjoy garlic so I knew it wouldn’t be a waste. I put the garlic in a saucepan and added 8 tablespoons of olive oil (avocado oil is a lot healthier, but I didn’t have any).

I then chopped up my fresh parsley, which came out to about a half a cup, and added that into the saucepan. The recipe calls for a whole pepper, but I only added a ¼ cup of the pimenta moida, which is crushed red pepper sauce. I use the Antonio’s brand – it’s hot, but not overly salty.

The recipe advises adding white vinegar to taste. I used around 1/2 cup and from there I just let it simmer on the stove.

This sauce is traditionally made with fried fish, but I don't really fry anything so I chose to bake my fish instead. I cut the filet of cod into several pieces, put a little olive oil and breadcrumbs on each, and put it in the oven for 18 minutes at 375 degrees.

I then sauteed my large-leaf spinach on the stove. I washed my potatoes and left the peel on, cutting them into fourths and adding them into a pan of water on the stove. From a boil I cooked them for 15 minutes. As I finished our meal and began plating, my husband was nearly done shucking the oysters and placed them on a tray on the table with a squeeze of lemon and a dollop of cocktail sauce on each.

It was exciting to try something new at home and what was even better is that it was delicious. Everything turned out perfect! I did stray away a bit from the recipe for the sauce, but it was very similar to my grandmother’s. The large-leaf spinach was delicious and a fun new find. The fish and oysters were fresh, and the cocktail sauce was great and local, which made it even better. I had a great time making this dish and adding some more local finds to my pantry.

I'm excited for next week’s meal and what new local items I can try out!