Chef Franco Creates A Summer Feast

Is the clam boil the perfect summer food?

I got to decide that for myself, as did around 20 others, on Thursday night as the International Festival of Arts and Ideas presented Summer Cooking with Chef Arturo Franco-Camacho, an interactive cooking event broadcast via Zoom and featuring the long-beloved New Haven-area restauranteur.

In advance, participants were asked to pick up a package with the makings for a clam boil as well as a vegetarian ceviche at Shell and Bones Oyster Bar and Grill on Water Street earlier in the day. The box contained three containers of chopped vegetables, one container of mixed juices, a cup of pickling spices, and a netted bag filled with clams, mussels, fingerling potatoes, corn on the cob, and chorizo. The email stated a recipe was to be included, but it was not (more about that later).

This reporter had never made a clam boil before, in fact I have never cooked fresh clams or mussels before. In fullest disclosure, shellfish is something that my family has never enjoyed, so I never cooked it for myself, instead ordering it from restaurants or enjoying it at the homes of others. I had also never made ceviche for similar reasons.

The event began with Arts and Ideas tours program manager Denise Santisteban introducing Arturo Franco-Camacho — executive chef for Shell and Bones, Camacho Garage, Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grill — who would be leading everyone in preparing their two dishes.

​“We have some goodies to share,” Chef Franco said, and immediately expressed his gratitude. ​“Thank you all for supporting New Haven,” he said, noting that he had been here for over 20 years now and that the city ​“has given us great adventures.”

First he went over what was in the bag, noting that in addition to the pickling spices that were included in the box, one could add salt and other spices, as well as lemon juice, garlic and citrus, to the water in which the bag would be boiled. He himself added a chili and an orange, also noting one could add wine or white wine vinegar as well for a ​“PH balance.”

It was at this point that many of the participants mentioned that they did not have a recipe included with the package. When asked, we were told it would be sent later. For now, Chef Franco could guide us. More questions came up in the chat about how much water to use and other details. I decided to toss a lemon as well as sea salt in with my cup of spices, and we were told to let the bag boil until the shellfish opened.

Chef Franco also told of a dipping sauce we could make ​“a variety of ways” using butter or olive oil as the base, noting that in Cuba there is a sauce called mojo, ​“which means ​‘to get wet,’” that is made with lemon juice, olive oil and oregano. On this evening he used a stick of butter, lemon, Old Bay seasoning and cilantro. After I confirmed that olive oil could be used and I remembered I had some Old Bay, I threw both of those into a small pan and grabbed a handful of cilantro off my back porch herb pot, chopping it up and tossing it in as well. In the midst of trying to not overcook the clams while also take notes and photos for this article, the cilantro got a bit crispy (more about that later).

The ceviche was next. Chef Franco told the group we could ​“choose any vegetables you can find in the store” for this recipe, and proceeded to chop up celery, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, beets, and cucumbers, then thinly slicing red onions and tomatoes, parboiling some of the veggies so they would not be as crunchy. The juice he added the vegetables to was a mixture of orange, lime, and lemon, and that had spices added to it as well. He noted that you could use coconut milk instead for this recipe as a variation. Years ago at Roomba, a restaurant he formerly owned and ran on Chapel Street, he would use young coconut meat in his vegan ceviche because it had the taste and texture of fish. As he plated the ceviche with avocado and tostados, he noted that it was a ​“perfectly nice hors d’ oeuvres or appetizer for your friends.”

I decided to chop all of my veggies a bit smaller (all were already parboiled except the tomatoes and onions) and then tossed them into the juice, adding chopped cilantro and sea salt as well. After placing that in the fridge to sit for a while, I made myself a plate of a bit of everything from the boil (except the sausage, which I saved for my husband) and poured the dipping sauce into a small bowl. The flavor of each was distinct and quite fresh. When I dipped the clams and mussels into the sauce with the crunchy cilantro it gave them a sweet spiciness I never knew I needed, and I ended up dipping the potatoes and corn in it too. I had inadvertently created my new favorite condiment.

Chef Franco wrapped up the event answering a few questions, including discussing the origins of ceviche, cooking fish and veggies in citrus, and the ingredients in the pickling spices. He also gave out his email to those who wanted to ask him any questions, again noting that the recipes would be posted on the website after the event. He ended by once again expressing his gratitude. ​“Thank you for supporting our ideas,” he said to the group.

I ate more of the boil (and yes, all of the dipping sauce) after the event was over, sharing the rest of the potatoes and the sausage with my still-not-a-shellfish-fan husband, who deemed it ​“delicious.” The ceviche was then enjoyed with blue corn tortilla chips. Also incredibly fresh tasting — I can’t say I missed the fish. I started thinking of all the different vegetables I might try in it, including corn and jicama like Chef Franco had mentioned. Both dishes were indeed quite perfect for summer.

As someone who learned to cook from her mother with rarely a recipe card in sight, I have to say I found the entire event highly enjoyable and even poignant. I did not realize how much I had missed cooking with someone else’s guidance. One can pull up a recipe at any time online or crack open a cookbook, but it is not the same as the communal practice of cooking with someone else, trying something new or different when you can’t exactly remember what you’re supposed to do, or using measurements such as a pinch or a handful. Next time I decide to make either of these dishes, I will remember the kind face and words of Chef Franco, as I remember my own mother when I cook her recipes, and hopefully I can pass them along to my children and friends as well.