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Ask A Chef: Hugh Acheson’s Lowcountry Frogmore Stew

frogmore stew

Chef Hugh Acheson of 5 & 10 shares his Lowcountry Frogmore Stew recipe.

Q: On a drive down south, we stopped in Athens, Georgia, at 5&10. I had the Lowcountry Frogmore Stew and I could’ve eaten it all day! I’d love the recipe. — C.K., Kingston, Ont.

A: Ottawa-born chef Hugh Acheson is familiar to most from appearances on Bravo’s Top Chef. In this dish, he elevates a classic low-country seafood boil by simmering down the cooking liquid building layers of flavor into the intense broth. He serves it with a wedge of garlic toast.

Ingredients


Serves 6

  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1⁄2 cup thinly sliced leeks, white parts only
  • 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
  • 1⁄4 cup celery, finely diced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1⁄2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup tomato juice
  • 3 cups fish stock (or clam juice in a pinch)
  • 9 new potatoes, golf-ball size, boiled until tender
  • 3 ears of corn, shucked and cut into quarters
  • 1 lb. of andouille sausage
  • 1 1⁄2 lb. fresh large shrimp, heads off, peeled but with the very end of the tail shell intact (raw)
  • 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 1⁄2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup arugula, lightly chopped
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 3 lemon rounds, 1⁄8″ thick
  • 6 thick slices of grilled country bread for serving

Directions

  1. Place a medium to large pot with a lid over medium heat. Once hot, add the olive oil, then the leeks. Sauté until just translucent, about 3 minutes, and add the tomatoes, celery, garlic and thyme. Sauté for 3 more minutes and add the white wine and reduce by half. Then add the tomato juice, fish stock, potatoes, corn and sausage. Cook for 5 minutes and add the Old Bay and 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt.
  2. Season the shrimp with a 1⁄2 tsp of salt. Add the shrimp to the pot, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through and turn shiny white.
  3. Add the arugula and butter. Stir into the shrimp stew. Add the parsley and lemon, and season with the remaining 1⁄2 tsp of salt.
  4. Ladle the stew into six bowls and garnish with a slice of grilled bread for sopping up the broth.

Source

Reprinted from A Turn In The South: Southern Flavors Reinvented For Your Kitchen. Copyright by Hugh Acheson. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin House LLC.

  • Photographer Rinne Allen
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