Ravenous Food Shopping

Whether its seafood, vegetables, fruit, meat, pasta, or cheese— know about and own the decisions and choices you make where you shop for food.

A very inviting display of summer fruit and vegetables at the Mercat de l’Olivar in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. (Photo by David Shalleck)

Be picky!

The satisfaction we get from transforming raw ingredients into something delicious is in great part the result of attentive food shopping. Of course, what would be the point in buying something that doesn’t taste good? But there’s a bit of a mash-up between what naturally tastes great, what’s put in front of us in the store, and the choices we make. The ravenous food shopper will always prevail.

Ravenous food shopping requires being selective or in easier terms, picky. It might take a little more time but it’s worth it. We deserve the good stuff and there’s always something worth foraging whenever we go to the store.

When you travel abroad especially around the Mediterranean go to a public market and watch the locals buy food. You’ll see picky in action. There’s a lot of looking, a lot of touching (when possible), and focused choosing. Most of the time, in the dialogue between buyer and seller, it’s the buyer who has the upper hand. Not necessarily for price but an almost unyielding desire for quality. Sometimes it can get boisterous!

I was taught during the first internship I did in Provence to walk the market or the fresh section of the store to gaze at everything before making choices and buying. This way you can get a sense of what looks best from what’s available. It doesn’t take long to see variation among fruit and vegetables, meats, poultry, fish and seafood, cheeses, breads—essentially all of the fresh and perishable ingredients. In the same way cooks cook differently variety is part of the territory among growers, producers, and merchants.

“Think of an item in which you demand quality and integrity (car, music, furniture, clothing, cosmetics). Then imagine what would happen if you translated that same demand for quality to the food you eat.”

—MARC DAVID, NOURISHING WISDOM, 1991

Knowing where your food comes from is also important. We’re faced with choosing for taste, making price comparisons, going with organic, or supporting sustainable practices. When offered, buying local helps small businesses, reduces the carbon footprint, and decreases the demand for factory farming.

Then we get to the seafood department at the store. The options in front of us are vast. There’s shrimp harvested from questionable methods and shipped frozen half way around the world next to wild caught shrimp from closer waters that actually taste like shrimp. However, a sustainably farmed sea bass from Greece can make its way to California through a very efficient distribution system and can be wonderful to bake or grill. And with salmon in plentiful supply all the time it’s hard to tell which one actually is in season.

Clever merchandising and attractive packaging grabs our attention but filters our senses. What do the hard and almost flavorless grape tomatoes in the bright yellow domed plastic containers bring to the world of gastronomy? Or same-sized shiny red apples packed in shrink-wrapped Styrofoam trays neatly stacked in displays that mimic a farmer’s market? I want to buy apples in autumn from a grower whose bins have the alluring smell of the orchard from where the apples came. On the contrary, I’m a fan of hydroponic butter lettuce complete with roots and a little soil in the clamshell containers because more times than not the lettuce on the shelves is too wet from over misting.

Read also: Ingredient. Ingredient. Ingredient

Here’s an example of a paradox we are faced with in the store. I was the culinary producer on Chef José Andrés television series, Made in Spain. I worked on the cooking segments that were taped on the East Coast. During production I regularly had to go to the grocery store to get ingredients for upcoming recipes in the shows. One day while I was in the produce department a very kind and proud store employee lured me into tasting some peaches that were grown in the area. He touted their local provenance. But they had no flavor and their mealy mouthfeel put me off. Bummer! In the bin next to these peaches were some from California— juicy, delicious, and half the price!

Less is more!

Making something to eat with a short list of ingredients puts more emphasis on the quality of everything being used. That doesn’t mean the most expensive, but has everything to do with how an ingredient was produced, brought to market, handled, stored, the nutritive value, and ultimately the most flavorful. This is true for both fresh and shelf stable pantry items. You will find as the natural flavors of what you use increases then the quantity of ingredients you use can decrease.

A less is more approach to cooking is at its best when making fish and shellfish. The vast amount of seafood available means there is a wide variety of flavor and texture. My experience throughout the Mediterranean has impressed upon me the idea when cooking fish is to embellish rather than mask. First and foremost is the freshness of the fish. Assuming the right choice was made in the market and basic cooking methods are used, it doesn’t take much to make something delicious.

“There are many Mediterranean seafood recipes which derive their effect not only from the choice of fish but from the flavor imparted by the other ingredients and the method of cooking.”

—ALAN DAVIDSON, MEDITERRANEAN SEAFOOD, 1972

For me, Neapolitan Fish in Crazy Water—Pesce in Acqua Pazza— may very well be one of the best ways to cook seafood. It’s easy to make and it’s more about the method than the recipe. The ingredient list is short and the door is wide open for options. It should be a regular in everyone’s repertoire to the point where it’s one of those first of mind ideas, “I feel like having fish in Crazy Water tonight,” or when at the place where you buy fish and seafood, “that ___ (type of fish) would be perfect in Crazy Water.”

I learned how to make it at a wonderful restaurant near Sorrento called Don Alfonso. It became one of my go-to recipes when I was the chef for an Italian family on board their private sailing yacht. In fact, it was completely in its element when I made it on the boat since the origins of the dish comes from the fishermen who ply the coastal waters of Campania in Southern Italy. And if anyone knows how to cement simplicity to freshness, fishermen are at the top of that list.

Crazy Water only requires a couple of fresh ingredients with a handful of others in the Mediterranean pantry. If you all you have to do is get a great piece of fish and some ripe red tomatoes, the garlic, extra virgin olive oil, capers, parsley, and sea salt are already at home. Mind you, this is only one of infinite ways to make it. Everyone I’ve spoken to in Italy about Crazy Water has their own version. You can use my recipe as a base.

Read also: Mediterranean Summer Cooking

the buying

Let’s do some food shopping. One of my hard and fast rules for buying seafood is to wait until I get to the store. I need to be able to see what’s available. A preconceived notion for an absolute like getting snapper or halibut can be quickly eradicated if it’s clear one or the other isn’t fresh, there isn’t any available, only tail pieces are left, or the price is too high. And being fixated on getting something specific may miss a great opportunity by passing a glistening alternative just a few sections away in the refrigerated case.

Unfortunately, we’re not in the land where you can go to your fishmonger and say, “What’s in the case that will be perfect for Fish in Crazy Water?” And if you do ask, I wish for a great relationship between you and the seller because when you put the decision in the hands of the provider, nine times out of ten you’ll be led to what needs to go first. Therefore, as I said above, the ravenous food shopper will always prevail.

There’s also an option if the fish isn’t up to the standard and the shellfish looks great. Some minor adjustments to Fish in Crazy Water can easily spin into versions of Cacciucco or Brodetto. Take out the capers in the recipe, replace with a little pepperoncino then add some basil just before serving instead of parsley and off you go. Remember, this thinking is happening in the store.

You may have to peruse the tomato section of the produce department because ripe and juicy tomatoes have become a little harder to get and it will take gentle sorting through the bin. If you’re making this in winter, head to the area of the store that has canned tomatoes. You may be able to find small whole tomatoes—ciliegine— that work wonderfully in Crazy Water. Bonus if you can get organic. Get some potatoes to steam, some spinach to wilt, and you will put together a great meal.

“The best advice is always: spend your time in the market, not in the kitchen.”

— NANCY HARMON JENKINS, THE ESSENTIAL MEDITERRANEAN, 2003

In sum, what you choose to buy and how you cook is mutually inclusive. Whether its seafood, vegetables, fruit, meat, pasta, or cheese— know about and own the decisions and choices you make where you shop for food. Great flavor is one of life’s pleasures. The offerings are right in front of us. And if they’re not, be flexible because no doubt there’s an alternative not far away.