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EDITED BY: LISA LEIGH CONNORS
PHOTOGRAPHY: JULIA CUMES

Five chefs at Chatham restaurants share delicious recipes inspired by locally caught seafood.

After buying your favorite seafood directly from the dock, how should you prepare it? We approached chefs at Del Mar Bar & Bistro, Chatham Bars Inn, Wild Goose Tavern, Pisces and Pate’s to serve up some innovative ideas. From roasted scallops and Mediterranean fisherman’s stew to mussels Dijon and lobster ravioli, there’s something for every home chef! Bon appétit!

Mussels Dijon & Portuguese Steamed Littlenecks

Recipes from Chef Maria Pollio  |  Del Mar Bar & Bistro

Mussels Dijon

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • Half a lemon
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
  • 2/3 cup white wine
  • 2 pounds of local mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • A good pinch of chopped mixed fresh herbs (I use parsley, thyme and oregano)
  • Kosher salt and pepper to taste
  • Fresh scallions to garnish

Directions

  1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a pot with a tight-fitting lid.
  2. Add garlic and shallots and sauté until soft, about 2 minutes. Stir in the butter, lemon half, both mustards and white wine.
  3. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Add mussels and cover. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until the mussels have opened.
  4. Add the heavy cream, fresh herbs, and salt and pepper; simmer until slightly reduced. Discard any mussels that do not open. Discard lemon half.
  5. Divide evenly among two bowls and garnish with curly scallions. To curl scallions, julienne and put in ice water. Enjoy with good crusty bread. Serves 2 (as an appetizer)

Portuguese Steamed Littlenecks

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 8 ounces linguica sausage, sliced on the bias
  • 3 medium shallots, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • Pinch of crushed red pepper flake, if desired for more heat
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 1 medium to large vine ripe tomato, diced
  • 2 dozen local littleneck clams, scrubbed clean
  • 1 cup white wine
  • Half a lemon
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs (parsley, oregano and thyme)
  • Linguine pasta, or similar, cooked al dente

Directions

  1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a pot with a tight-fitting lid.
  2. Add the linguica and cook until lightly browned.
  3. Toss in the shallots, garlic, pepper flakes (if desired) and butter. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  4. Add the tomatoes, clams, white wine and lemon. Increase heat to high and cover. Cook until clams open, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove open clams and place into a separate bowl so they don’t overcook. Discard any clams that do not open and discard lemon half.
  5. Stir in the fresh herbs and cooked pasta to rewarm and soak up some of the sauce.
  6. Add the open clams back to the pot to rewarm.
  7. Divide pasta, clams and linguica evenly among two bowls. Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon. Enjoy with good crusty bread.

Serves 2 as a main course

Del Mar Bar & Bistro,
907 Main St., 508-945-9988, delmarbistro.com

Fricassee of Chatham Oysters

Recipe from Chef Chris Jenkins  |  Chatham Bars Inn

 

Ingredients

  • 20 Chatham oysters
    (scrubbed and rinsed)
  • Burgundy Cream Sauce
  • 2 teaspoons butter and 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
  • 2 teaspoons shallots, minced
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 1 cup white burgundy wine
  • ¼ teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • 1½ cup heavy cream
  • 2 pinches saffron
  • ¼ cup leek (whites only), cut in ½-inch rounds and blanched
  • 2 ounces fresh chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned
  • 1 cup Tuscan kale, cut in 1-inch pieces and blanched
  • Fresh lemon juice, to taste
  • Salt and ground white pepper, to taste
  • 2 teaspoon chives, finely sliced

Garnish

  • 1 ounce trout roe*
  • 12 each pickled chanterelle mushrooms**
  • 20 sheep sorrel leaves

Directions

  1. Carefully shuck the oysters into a small bowl and reserve oyster “liquor.”
  2. To make the sauce, start by sweating the shallots and garlic in 2 teaspoons of butter until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and vinegar and reduce over high heat until 1 tablespoon of liquid remains. Add the heavy cream and saffron, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat once sauce has boiled. Keep warm.
  3. In a small pan, sauté the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 1 to 2 minutes, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper, then add to sauce. Next, add the kale and leeks to the sauce and bring to a boil again. Add oysters and turn heat down to very low. Warm the oysters in the sauce for about 2 to 3 minutes until they become slightly firm, but not cooked through.
  4. Season to taste with lemon juice and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Add chives to the sauce.

To Serve

In four warm bowls, use a spoon to place five oysters in each dish. Spoon some of the cream sauce evenly among the bowls. Garnish with a scattering of trout roe, three pickled chanterelle mushrooms and five pieces of sheep sorrel. Serve warm with toasted baguettes.

*Trout roe is available at Browne Trading Company (brownetrading.com)

**Chanterelles are available seasonally at D’Artagnan  (dartagnan.com)

Serves 4 as an appetizer

Chatham Bars Inn offers several dining options, including
Stars, The Sacred Cod, Beach House Grill and The Veranda,
297 Shore Road, 508-945-0096, chathambarsinn.com

Lobster “OD’’

A fan favorite at the Wild Goose Tavern,
located at the Chatham Wayside Inn

Prepared by Chef Versel Johnson

Ingredients

  • 20 medium-sized lobster and ricotta raviolis*
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons chopped shallots (about 2 large)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped garlic (2 to 3 cloves)
  • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into ½-inch pieces
  • 12 grape tomatoes cut in half (baby heirlooms recommended)
  • ¼ cup white wine
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 pound lobster meat
  • 2 ears of cooked corn, shaved
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

 

Directions

  1. Cook the raviolis per instructions on package.
  2. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic, sauté until translucent.
  3. Add asparagus and tomatoes and sauté another few minutes until tomatoes start to blister.
  4. Add wine and reduce by half.
  5. Add cream, lobster and corn. Bring pan to a low simmer. Add cheese and stir until sauce thickens to desired consistency.
  6. Toss in raviolis to heat and divide into bowls.

 

Serves: 4 to 5

*Fresh lobster ravioli is available at Mac’s Chatham Fish & Lobster. You can also purchase fresh shrimp and lobster ravioli by RANA, sold in the dairy section at Chatham Village Market.

The Wild Goose Tavern, located
at the Chatham Wayside Inn
512 Main St., Chatham,
508-945-5590, wildgoosetavern.com

Mediterranean Fisherman’s Stew

Recipe by Sue Connors

Chef/co-owner of Pisces Restaurant & Bar

 

This recipe should be done in stages. The first step is to purchase fresh local lobsters, cook and pick them, and then set aside the shells for stock. The second stage is to make the broth. Once you complete these first two stages, you are ready to prepare the seafood, fresh aromatics and stew! The fisherman’s stew is a versatile dish that can be adjusted to your taste. It is gluten-free, alcohol-free and has very little fat (only cooking oil).

 

Chef’s tip: Purchase lobster bodies from your local fishmonger.  This way, you can purchase the cooked and cleaned lobster meat separately. I recommend one large tail and four claws, so everyone gets a little of both. If lobster is not available, shrimp make a wonderful substitution.

 

Lobster Stock

Ingredients

  • 3-4 lobster bodies or shells from cooked lobsters
  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped\
  • Fresh fennel, bulb only, roughly chopped (optional)
  • 3 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 can tomato paste
  • Water

Equipment

  • Roasting pan
  • Spatula or cooking spoon
  • Cooking spray
  • Large stock pot

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Spray roasting pan with cooking spray
  3. Add lobster bodies and vegetables, roast for 45 minutes
  4. Add tomato paste and roast for another 30 minutes
  5. Remove from oven
  6. Carefully add 1 quart of water to deglaze
  7. Place all of the contents of the roasting pan in the large stock pot. Use a spatula to scrape the roasting pan.
  8. Cover contents with water, topping with approximately 2 inches of water.
  9. Simmer uncovered for 2 hours. Remove from heat.
  10. Strain all liquid from stock, return to stock pot, bring to a high simmer and reduce by 1/4. Cool. Extra can be frozen for future use.

Broth 

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon blended oil
  • 1 quart lobster stock
  • 1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, large dice
  • 1/2 cup Spanish onions, medium dice
  • 1/2 Jalapeño seeded, small dice (more or less depending on how hot the peppers are)
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 cup canned tomatoes in juice (San Marzano recommended)

Directions

  1. In a medium-size pot or straight-sided sauté pan (3 to 4 quarts), heat oil over medium-high heat.
  2. Cook onions and jalapeños, add tomato paste; cook out tomato paste for about a minute.
  3. Add canned tomato in juice, fresh tomatoes and lobster stock.
  4. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
  5. Cool. Set aside.

 

Prepare your seafood

  • 8 sea scallops (foot/muscle removed)
  • Lobster meat from one 1-1/2 pound cooked fresh lobster or approximately 8 ounces of fresh lobster meat cut into 1 to 2-ounce pieces.
  • 12 ounces hake or other white fish, such as cod or haddock, cut into 4 even pieces (ask for a loin cut or “Captain’s” cut.)
  • 20 mussels, scrubbed and rinsed (local mussels or PEI mussels)
  • 8 littleneck clams (you can steam these open ahead of time and add them at the end to heat through)

Prepare your fresh aromatics

  • 1/4 cup diced fresh tomatoes
  • 8 round slices of jalapeño pepper (more or less depending on heat)
  • Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro
  • 4 white corn tortillas (warm or grill until crisp)
  • 4 wedges of lime (garnish)
  • Sprigs of cilantro washed and dry on paper towels (garnish)

Additional items needed:

  • 1-1/2 tablespoon blended oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper

Prepare your stew

  1. Heat 4-quart straight-sided sauté pan over medium/high heat. Once pan is hot, add the blended oil.
  2. Start by adding the scallops and hake. Sear on both sides turning only once. Remove scallops from pan. Keep warm.
  3. Add little neck clams, mussels, diced tomato, sliced jalapeños, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Sauté for about a minute, then add prepared broth.
  4. Cover and simmer until clams and mussels open.
  5. Add cooked lobster meat and seared scallops. Cover and cook for another minute to heat through.
  6. Remove cover and finish with fresh chopped cilantro.
  7. Divide stew among four shallow bowls. Place clams and mussels first, then hake and shellfish. Ladle broth over seafood. Add tortilla and garnish with lime wedges and fresh cilantro sprigs.

Serves 4

Pisces Restaurant and Bar, 2653 Main St., Chatham, 508-432-4600, piscesofchatham.com

Roasted Scallops

with creamed corn, crispy potatoes, chili oil and basil

Recipe by Chef Anthony Silvestri

Pate’s Restaurant

Ingredients

Creamed corn:

  • 2 pounds fresh corn, grated off the cob
  • ½ cup onions, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ½ cup grated Romano cheese
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 4 pounds large scallops, cleaned of the side muscle
  • Chili oil, as needed
  • ½ cup chopped basil
  • Fried or baked julienned potato strings

Directions

  1. Place all ingredients for the creamed corn, except the cheese, into a saucepan and cook for about 15 minutes over medium heat. If it gets too dry, add a little water as needed. When finished, stir in the cheese and keep warm.
  2. Heat olive oil in medium saucepan and cook the scallops for a minute on each side. Do this in two to three batches so the scallops achieve a nice, golden color. Place the scallops on top of the creamed corn, and finish the dish with fried or baked julienned potato strings, chili oil and fresh basil.

Serves 6-8 

 

Pate’s, 1260 Main St.,
508-945-9777,
patesrestaurant.com

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