A Recipe for Lowcountry Boil

A Recipe for Lowcountry Boil

Chef Mark Steuer shares his recipe for a hearty seafood and potato stew

From the Wall Street Journal

"EVER SINCE I left Charleston, I've known there was something missing," said Mark Steuer, 32, who headed north from South Carolina 14 years ago to attend college in Madison, Wis. After getting his degree, Mr. Steuer settled in Chicago, and that's where he finally figured out exactly what that "something" was: the cooking of coastal South Carolina, otherwise known as the Lowcountry.

"In Chicago there were a couple of Southern places, but none had the Spanish, French and Caribbean influence that made the food I grew up with so interesting. It was kind of just salty and fatty," he said. When Mr. Steuer finally opened his second restaurant, Carriage House, a little over a year ago, he got the chance to do right by the cooking he grew up with.

"This boil," Mr. Steuer said of his first Slow Food Fast contribution, "is actually a great showcase of what Southern cooking can be." Full of shellfish and andouille sausage, rounded out by tender bites of onion, fennel and potato, and swimming in a light paprika- and Old Bay-spiked broth, this dish exemplifies the complex flavors and winning simplicity that make Lowcountry cooking in particular so compelling.

"When the Spanish came, they dropped off a sausage that eventually morphed into andouille," the chef explained. "And watching the andouille transform the fish broth is one of the best things about making this." A true Southern host, Mr. Steuer apparently derives as much pleasure from cooking this food as his fans do from eating it.

—Kitty Greenwald

A Recipe for Lowcountry Boil

Total Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

½ fennel bulb, outer layer removed, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

3 medium red potatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces

2½ cups fish or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 andouille sausage links, sliced into rounds

12 Manila clams, cleaned

12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons roughly chopped Italian parsley

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt

4 slices toasted Pullman bread (optional)

What to Do

1. Heat oil in a medium-size, lidded pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onions and fennel and sweat until soft, about 3 minutes. Add potatoes and cook, stirring, another 2 minutes. Add broth and spices, bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are just fork-tender, about 15 minutes.

2. Add sausage and clams to pot and cover with lid. Steam until shells pop open, about 5 minutes. Stir in shrimp, butter, parsley and lemon juice and cook until shrimp just turn pink, about 2 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Serve immediately with slices of Pullman bread alongside, if desired.