Baked Seafood Au Gratin

Submitted by Rita1652

"Use fresh seafood and take the time to make it it's worth it! Rich comfort food! Serve with a loaf of crisp french bread and a light bowl of fresh greens!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 5mins
• Ingredients: 21
• Serves: 8-10

ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup olive oil
• 1⁄2 cup butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 lb fresh crabmeat
• 4 cups water
• 1 lb shrimp
• 1⁄2 lb small scallop
• 1⁄2 lb cod fish fillet
• 1 (4 ounce) can button mushrooms, drained
• 3⁄4 cup milk
• 1⁄4 chicken broth
• 1 1⁄2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce
• 1⁄2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• fresh parsley
• 1⁄8 cup sherry wine

directions

1. In a heavy skillet, saute the onion and the pepper in 1/2 cup of olive oil.
2. Cook until tender.
3. Mix in 1/2 cup of the flour, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Stir in crabmeat, remove from heat, and set aside.
5. In a large Dutch oven, bring the water to a boil.
6. Add the shrimp, scallops and flounder, and simmer for 3 minutes.
7. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid, and set the seafood aside.
8. In a heavy saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter over low heat.
9. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup flour.
10. Cook and stir constantly for 1 minute.
11. Gradually add the milk and chicken broth plus the 1 cup reserved cooking liquid.
12. Raise heat to medium; cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened and bubbly.
13. Mix in the shredded Cheddar cheese, Sherry, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and hot sauce.
14. Stir in cooked seafood, mushrooms and parsley.
15. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
16. Lightly grease one 9x13 inch baking dish.
17. Press crabmeat mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
18. Spoon the seafood mixture over the crabmeat crust, and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
19. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
20. Serve immediately.

Reviews

[MizzNezz]

I cut this down to 4 servings and baked it in a 9 inch square pan. I also omitted the flounder and added extra shrimp, simply because we like the shrimp best. This is very rich and delicious! You're right Rita, all you need with this is a salad and a nice crusty bread!! Well.....maybe a nice glass of white wine... :-) YUM!!

 

[Sandy L.]

Being from New England, fresh seafood is plentiful. A local seafood retailer/supplier has a cafeteria-style restaurant in Fitchburg that is always packed. This is #1 on their Dinner board made with crab in the sauce over haddock. Some of the changes I've made are the result of their offering. I'm cooking for one person so this is a half recipe. To make this more economical reduce the crab to 5-8 oz, increase the fish (cod or haddock, any local white fish) to 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. and keep the shrimp at 1 lb. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute 1 lg. minced shallot in 3 T. butter and 3 T. olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add 3-4 T. flour, whisk to incorporate and cook on medium 2 mins. Add slowly and whisk continually: 1/2 c. heavy/whipping cream then half -and-half (2-3 c.) until sauce is smooth and medium thin. Whisk in: 1 T. Worcecstershire sauce, 1 t. salt, a dash of black pepper and hot sauce each, and 3 T. dry sherry. Remove from heat and stir in your crab meat including all natural juices, whether you cleaned your own or use a canned crab, also 2 1/2 c. shredded cheese: a mix of mozzarella, parmesan, Montery Jack, or cheddar. Stir until well incorporated and melted. Arrange your seafood in a single layer in two buttered 9 inch pie plates, small casseroles or ramekins. I used cod, medium shrimp and bay scallops. Living in Florida now, I was able to get frozen Dungeness crab that I clean as needed. Add enough sauce to cover the meats. There will be about 1/3rd of the sauce left. Bake pie plates in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. I would serve this with long grain white rice, a crusty bread (great for topping with your extra sauce), and broccoli or asparagus spears. I also enjoy it inside crepes. The leftover sauce can be frozen, but will need a whisking when you thaw it. That's normal. You can also use the extra sauce as a hot appetizer dip (mince some cooked shrimp and blend in to bulk up the volume) or as a stuffing for mushrooms. Here are some pointers I use when I alter a recipe: Bell peppers should never be used with seafood; their taste is too overpowering for the delicate flavor of seafood. Crab is too valuable to mush into a crust and a crust is unnecessary. Always add it to the sauce with its juices. This reduces the overall amount of oil/butter and flour, removes other ingredients, and cuts the prep time of the recipe. I never precook or poach seafood. Seafood cooks very fast, and it will absorb the flavors that surround it. In water you'll lose all that flavor. You can double the fish in each pie plate to serve more people, keep the recipe more economical, and there's still plenty of sauce to go around. I always have shrimp and scallops in the freezer so I add them, too. Enjoy!

 

[ratherbeswimmin]

I have been on a seafood crave lately and am so glad I invested the time in making this recipe. The sauce was very rich and creamy and complimented the seafood quite well. Salad, bread and a glass of white wine rounded it out to make the perfect meal. Thanks Rita, this one is extra-special.