This Seafood Stew Is Endlessly Riffable
The New York Times
No matter what ingredients you use, this bold, briny stew from David Tanis sings alongside a radicchio-fennel salad and a grapefruit granita.
When I’m cooking at home, I usually don’t have a recipe at hand. Often, I’m cooking by feel, like confidently noodling on the piano without sheet music. But, of course, you do need practice before you can ad-lib.
This menu features dishes that can be prepared using that approach, although recipes are supplied. Many home cooks are already comfortable with customizing recipes, or using them just as a starting point. But sometimes they really aren’t necessary. Relying on memory and paying close attention to the ingredients’ attributes can get you there.
Take this fennel and radicchio salad, for instance. It’s an easy dish to riff on. Say you’ve got two fine fennel bulbs from the market and a lovely head of radicchio. Imagine the possibilities.
