Oyster Stew | Cooking at Cottage Farm

Little snow flurries began in the wee hours and carried on through the day, stopping and starting, turning the evening’s damp cold into something sharper and cheek-numbing. I made my way through a list of errands, picking up supplies for dinner and pots of paper-whites for the windowsills.

Things move more slowly here at Cottage Farm in winter, a welcome change after the hectic pace of the holidays. There’s a different rhythm, one that’s measured in trips out back to shovel the doorstep and in logs being added to the fire. With the gardens put to bed for the winter, we’re also eating differently: pulling more root vegetables from the cellar and adding local seafood.

Oysters—which are farmed in abundance all along the New England coast, with new varieties coming to market every year—are one of my favorites, and they’re at their best just now, firm and sweet from the icy waters. These are good days for hot bowls of stew, and oyster stew has a long history here. It’s also very easy to make, even if you’ve never shucked an oyster and have no intention of ever doing so. You can have your local fishmonger do that job for you—just be sure to request that the brine be reserved.

Krissy O'Shea

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