Seafood – Buen provecho…2022

Seafood Lasagna

“The time has come”, the chicken said. If you have been following Buen Provecho since the beginning, you have access as of today to 500 of my recipes! A few have been there since the beginning in March 2011, which is incredible. Many of you are “newbies” to the site and may not be aware of all of the recipes herein.

Probably FAKE NEWS, but my stats show viewers in 118 countries around the world, with 8,305 in USA, 8,177 in Canada and 3,350 in Mexico. The rest are an A to Z spread, from Australia to Zimbabwe…Thank You all so much!

Looking back, I have had many delicious recipes of which you may or may not have been aware. I encourage you to use the search feature to continue to enjoy the site. Alas, this is the FINAL recipe, which in fact appeared in October 2013. It is and has always been one of my favourites of the 500!

It’s certainly a special occasion recipe and involves lots of preparation, but it remains a very special one which I prepare on special occasions with special people, who obviously must enjoy seafood!

SEAFOOD LASAGNA

8 tbsp. butter
8 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 c. cream
1 c. milk
chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of nutmeg
1 lb. lasagna, “no boil type”
10 oz. frozen spinach, thaw and drain on paper towels
16 oz. ricotta cheese
8 oz. Manchego cheese
8 oz. provolone cheese
1 can sliced mushrooms
2 sliced onions
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 tomato, cut and peeled
1 1/2 lb. seafood (shrimp, crabmeat, scallops, white fish)
Parsley and rosemary to taste

To make sauce, melt butter and add flour. Take it off the burner, add cream, milk and broth. Put back on burner. Stir constantly. When everything is mixed, take it off the fire. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. To make lasagna, sauté onions and mushrooms in butter and oil. Add tomato, parsley and rosemary. Add seafood. In a greased lasagna pan, pour some sauce, place some lasagna, seafood, mozzarella, ricotta and chopped spinach mixed, provolone, and press it down before you begin second layer. Follow same order as first layer, ending with lasagna strips and sauce. Be sure to generously cover with sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 – 40 minutes.

Buen provecho amigos!!!

Carbonara with Shrimp and Scallops

Dinner with friends again, so I opted to make this old recipe again, which it seems I never posted before? I added some shrimp to the original.

Carbonara with Pan Seared Scallops

Ingredients for Scallops

12-16 large scallops 3-4 per person + deveined shrimp
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
Salt and Pepper

Ingredients for Carbonara

8 slices thick cut bacon diced
1 shallot finely sliced
1 clove garlic leave whole
4 green onions
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup parmigiana Reggiano grated
fresh ground pepper
14 oz (400g) pasta of your choice -I used Linguine

Pasta Carbonara

1. Start cooking pasta in large stainless-steel pot.

2. In small bowl mix together cream, egg yolks and 3/4 of cheese.

3. In large skillet cook bacon until crisp, add shallots and ½ green onions.

4. Smash down garlic clove a bit, add to bacon. (remove prior to adding pasta)

5. When pasta is finished cooking, drain well, then add to skillet of bacon.

6.. Toss well, then transfer to large bowl.

7. Add cream mixture to pasta and combined well. Make sure pasta is still hot in order to cook the eggs and melt the cheese.

Perfect Pan Seared Scallops (+ shrimp)

1. Blot scallops with paper towel to remove any water. Salt and pepper.

2. Heat large non-stick frying pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil.

3. Make sure frying pan is hot before adding scallops but not smoking.

4. Add scallops leaving plenty of space between. Overcrowding the pan will drop the pan temperature and cause scallops to steam rather than sear. (may have to do in batches)

6. Sear for about 2-4 minutes or when bottom is a nice golden brown. Don’t move them around in the pan or you will prevent them from forming that nice brown crust. After a couple of minutes have peek under to see if golden brown.

7.Turn to sear other side. (about 1-3 more minutes)

8. Spoon the melted butter over the scallops as the other side finishes cooking.

10. Transfer to paper towel covered plate.

11. Keep warm in oven, if making in batches.

12. Add butter to another frying pan. Cook shrimp until pink flipping once!

13. Add shrimp and scallops to pasta and mix well

14. Serve with more Parmesan cheese.

Crabmeat Salad

Many restaurants offer crabmeat dishes, but in reality, what they are calling crabmeat is actually Alaskan pollock, aka surimi.. “So what is surimi?”, you ask.

Surimi is a minced fish paste, made from a cheap fish in abundant supply, usually Alaskan pollock, frequently mixed with sugar and sorbitol, a sweetener.

I actually like using surimi due to the fact that it is much cheaper than the real crab meat! I recently bought a large package of surimi sticks at Costco. I sometimes eat a stick just because it tastes so great. Having bought so much of it, I decided to make this salad for lunch.

Crab Salad (Surimi)

Ingredients

1 pound imitation crab meat flaked style, or sticks cut into slices
1/2 cup celery finely chopped
3 tablespoons red onion finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
2 teaspoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped, plus more for garnish

Instructions

Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl. Stir gently to combine.

Serve immediately, or cover and chill for up to 2 days.

Sprinkle with additional chopped dill for garnish if desired.

Seafood Casserole

When you check your freezer and find a small package of shrimp and another one of scallops which still look perfect thanks to our FoodSaver, what else to do but a seafood casserole!

Seafood Casserole

6 oz uncooked spaghetti, broken
1/2 lb fresh scallops, cut in half or quarters if large
½ lb fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined. Smaller ones are best.
6 Tbs butter
4 Tbs flour, divided
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 cups half and half cream
4 Tbs white wine or sherry
½ cup sliced button mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas
8 Tbs parmesan cheese, divided

Instructions

Cook spaghetti per directions on package. Drain and rinse with hot water.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a 2-quart casserole dish, or 4 individual 2 cup ramekins.

Thoroughly rinse scallops and shrimp in cold water, drain, and cut scallops to desired size. I like a bite sized piece.

Melt 3 tbs of butter in a sauté pan.

Add seafood and mushrooms and sauté over medium high heat.

Cook 6-8 minutes, or until scallops are opaque.

Remove from pan and set aside.

In same pan, melt remaining butter. Add flour, salt and pepper and blend well.

Add half and half all at once.

Cook until mixture thickens. This should take about 5 minutes. Stir constantly with a whisk.

Add 4 T of parmesan cheese.

Add scallops and mushrooms back to the pan.

Add wine and peas. Continue stirring until heated through.

Place spaghetti into saucepan with seafood mixture, and stir it all together until well mixed.

Place it all in the buttered casserole.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until light brown and bubbly around the edges.

Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

I was very tempted to buy a store-bought shrimp ring as an appetizer while Easter dinner was readying in the oven this year. After seeing the price this year, I opted to buy a package of shrimp and make my own sauce. Fortunately, I already had a shrimp ring type of platter with a dish for the sauce. Actual savings was about TEN DOLLARS!

Knowing that most of you are aware of what a shrimp ring looks like I have not included any photos. Below is the great sauce recipe I incorporated!

Shrimp Cocktail Sauce with Sriracha

¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup Sriracha (Chili Garlic Sauce)
1 Tablespoon horseradish
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon hot sauce

Feel free to double the sauce depending on how many shrimp you are using.

Seafood Stew (otherwise known as “Bouillabaisse)

In different parts of the world, this dish is simply called “seafood chowder”. In Belgium we ate a similar dish known as “waterzooi“. I decided that I had small amounts of fish, shrimp and scallops that were not enough to cook separately and once again I turned to Pinterest to see what were the possibilities. The resultant stew/chowder/bouillabaisse/waterzooi was great!

The photo below is from Pinterest, showing oysters, lobster, etc. accompanied the original recipe. Choose whatever seafood you can get at the store…

Feel free to choose whatever seafood you have on hand…

Seafood Bouillabaisse

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
6 small potatoes, chopped
1 small bulb fennel, trimmed and chopped* OPTIONAL
pinch saffron
4 cups fish or vegetable broth
1 14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
1-pound fresh cod or another fish of choice, diced
8 raw shrimp, shells on
8 littleneck clams* OPTIONAL
8 mussels* OPTIONAL

Garnishes and accompaniments: Chopped fennel fronds, chopped parsley, slices of toasted baguette.

To make rouille, combine one minced garlic clove, a 1/4 cup of finely minced jarred roasted red pepper, and cayenne pepper with 1/4 cup mayonnaise.

1 Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, carrots, potatoes, fennel and saffron until translucent. Add tomatoes and fish broth and bring to a boil. Cook stew until thickened, about 20 minutes. If you’re planning to serve the stew immediately, continue to step 2. If serving later, allow stew to cool completely and store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, bring back to a simmer over medium heat before continuing to step 2.

2 Lower heat to simmer and add fish, adjusting heat to keep the liquid bubbling gently. Add cod or other diced fish first. Follow with clams about 5 minutes later. Finally, add the shrimp and mussels. Cover the pot and continue simmering until clams and mussels are open and shrimp is pink.

3 Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Ladle stew into bowls and serve with toasted bread slices and rouille sauce.

Shrimp Stir Fry

I am always looking for new stir fry sauce recipes and I came across this one on my favourite sites, Pinterest. I almost always use peeled and deveined shrimp to simplify cooking prep and this suited what I had on hand. Since we began a KETO diet years ago for the most part, we avoid rice and pastas, with some exceptions. You do not need to have rice with this, and thus, it becomes a shrimp “stew”…LOL. We always have a stir fry blend of vegetables on hand in the freezer, so you can substitute these with the frozen vegetables.

Shrimp Stir Fry

Ingredients

1 lb large shrimp (I usually buy peeled and deveined)
1 bunch broccoli
8 oz baby Bella mushrooms or other variety
8 oz snow peas
1/2 cup diced green onion
2 bell peppers

Stir Fry Sauce:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup chicken broth can also use vegetable broth
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup honey
6 garlic cloves
2 tsp chili paste more if you want spicier
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

Peel and de-vein shrimp if needed. Whisk all ingredients for the sauce together and set aside. Chop vegetables and set aside.

Preheat a large cooking pan or a wok over medium heat and add peanut oil.

Sauté vegetables, mixing often, until start to soften. Don’t cook vegetables all the way because it will continue to cook after you take it out of the pan and later with sauce.

Take veggies out of the pan and add a little more oil to the pan.

Sauté shrimp over medium-high heat until just turns opaque on each side.

Add vegetables back into the pan and stir.

Whisk the sauce again and pour it into the pan. Stir well and cook for a few minutes, just until sauce thickens.

Stir in green onions and serve right away.

You can serve shrimp stir fry over rice, with noodles, or just on its own.

Seared Scallops in a Cajun Mustard Cream Sauce

Just in time for News Year’s Eve! As a change this year I decided to have Oysters Rockefeller in place of the usual escargots. Alas, they were impossible to find as fresh and on second thought I did not want to have to shuck them. Third choice was either mussels or scallops. NO mussels to be found. I had to settle on frozen scallops. This recipe from Closet Cooking was not only simple, but really awesome with the mustard sauce. Since I neglected to take a photo, this is the photo which accompanied the recipe.

It was perfect with the broiled asparagus AND very perfect with the leftover mustard sauce, so much so that |I had an idea for using this sauce on Eggs Benedict some time.

Let me know if you try it! It made a great and simple romantic dinner for two.

Seared Scallops in a Cajun Mustard Cream Sauce

Prep Time:5 minutes Cook Time:10 minutes

Total Time:15 minutes Servings: 2

1-pound sea scallops (about 1 inch thick) I used ten scallops
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Cajun mustard (or grainy mustard)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Pat the scallops dry and press on the Cajun seasoning.
Met the butter into the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the scallops and sear until lightly golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side, before setting aside.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
Add the heavy cream, mustards and lemon juice, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens a bit, about 2-3 minutes.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste and serve the scallops in the sauce garnished with the chopped parsley.

Option: Replace the butter and oil with bacon grease or butter yet, start by cooking 4 strips bacon, use the grease to cook the scallops in and sprinkle the crumbled bacon onto the scallops just before serving!

Option: Add 1/4 cup chicken broth or seafood broth or white wine to the pan before adding the cream and deglaze the plan by scrapping all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon while the broth simmers.

Option: Add 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese to the sauce!

I chose not to use any of the options this time around!!

Happy New Year!!

Shrimp Stuffed Avocados

This used to be one of our favorite salads at a local restaurant. This recipe beats theirs! Yeah, there are two halves there!

Shrimp stuffed avocado Author: Layla Pujol

Yield: 8-10 stuffed avocado halves

Ingredients

4-5 firm ripe avocados
1 lb medium sized cooked shrimp (OR 2 cans of tiny Shrimp uncut)
½ medium red onion, diced finely
2 radishes, diced finely
½ red bell pepper, diced finely
2 celery stalks, diced finely
2 hard-boiled eggs, diced
5 tbs. mayonnaise
Lime juice from 1 lime
Salt/pepper to taste (I like cracked peppercorns)
Cilantro chopped for garnish

Instructions

Chop the cooked shrimp in half, if desired keep a few whole to garnish OR use whole if small)
Combine diced onions, radishes, bell pepper, celery, eggs, shrimp, ½ of the lime juice and aioli or mayonnaise in a bowl, mix well. Can be kept refrigerated until ready to use.
Taste and salt/pepper if necessary.
Cut avocados in half, remove seed and peel carefully.
Drizzle remaining lime juice over avocados, this help keep them from darkening too quickly.
Use a spoon to stuff avocados with shrimp salad filling.
Add any garnishes and serve immediately.

Steamed Mussels in a Coconut Curry Broth

Its not too late to do your Nw Years Eve shopping is it? Your guests would love these coconut curry mussels with fresh baguettes for dipping into the sauce. If you need a veggie dish, go for the steamed broccoli…

STEAMED MUSSELS IN A COCONUT CURRY BROTH

INGREDIENTS:

2.5 pounds mussels (I prefer Prince Edward Island mussels)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk (lite version is fine too – just won’t be as rich)
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken (or seafood) stock
2 green onions, sliced

baguettes or bread for serving (or fries!)

DIRECTIONS:

Keep the mussels refrigerated until you’re ready to use. Once ready, place them in a large bowl of ice cold water. Scrub the outsides of the mussels and remove the string (or “beard”) by using a towel or paper towel to pull it out. Discard any mussels that have opened already. Keep the mussels in the ice water.

Better still, buy the frozen ones which are already cleaned..just add them in where required in the recipe.

Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat and add the butter and olive oil. Once it’s melted, stir in the onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, until slightly softened. Stir in the curry paste and continue to stir until it’s distributed throughout the entire pan of onions. Cook for 5 more minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and stock, stirring until it’s smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring continuously. Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the mussels and toss. Cover the skillet and cook just until the mussels open, about 5 to 6 minutes. Garnish with the sliced green onions. Stir the mussels well so the broth makes it into the shells. Serve immediately with baguettes or thin fries.