Sea Dishes
9/22/2006 5:30:58 PM by Natalia Maldonado
Whip out the plates and silverware and get ready to satiate even the most discerning of taste buds with these seafood recipes.
Point Lookout Lobster Salad // Recipes from a Very Small Island by Linda Greenlaw and Martha Greenlaw // Hyperion
Ingredients
4 1-pound lobsters
1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
1 cup sliced celery
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
2/3 cup olive oil
White pepper
Lemon slices, for garnish
Preparation
Put the lobsters headfirst into a kettle of boiling salted water. Cover, let the water return to a boil, and cook for about 12 minutes, or until the lobster shells are bright red. Transfer the lobsters to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the claws and tail and cut into pieces. Transfer to a large bowl. (Or use three cups cold leftover lobster meat.) Cook fresh peas in lightly salted water for three to seven minutes (depending on size), or just until tender. Cook frozen peas for about two minutes, or until crisp-tender. Drain, rinse with cold water to cool, and pat dry on paper towels. Add to the lobster meat. Stir in the celery, basil and lemon zest. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and salt. Slowly add the oil in a steady stream, whisking the dressing until it is emulsified. Pour enough dressing over the lobster mixture to coat the salad and toss gently. Season to taste with additional salt and white pepper. Divide the salad among salad plates and garnish with lemon slices. Serves four.
Clams Casino // fl-seafood.com // Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Makes four servings
Ingredients
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
4 tablespo ons butter, softened
2 red bell peppers, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon green onions, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
24 farm-raised clams
6 slices bacon, cooked crisp, crumbled
Preparation
Combine breadcrumbs, butter, bell pepper, parsley, green onions and pepper to make casino mixutre. Blend well. Shuck clams, leaving loosened clam meat in one half of the shell and discard other half of the shell. Place clams on-a-half-shell in a baking dish and cover each with about a teaspoon of the casino mixture. Broil clams four to six inches from heat for about three minutes or until browned. Garnish with bacon and serve immediately. Makes four servings.
Flounder Cordon Bleu // fl-seafood.com //Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Ingredients
2 pounds Florida flounder fillets
6 slices cooked ham, 1/2 ounce each
6 slices swiss cheese, 1/2 ounce each
1 teaspoon Florida orange rind, grated
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 Florida egg beaten
1 tablespoon margarine
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup Florida milk
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Preparation
Place one slice each of ham and cheese in the center of each fillet. Cut to fit. Sprinkle orange rind and pepper evenly over each fillet. Roll the fillets and secure with wooden picks. Gently dip rolls in beaten egg, then coat with breadcrumbs. Place in a 12x8x2- inch baking dish. Melt margarine in saucepan over medium heat; blend in flour. Slowly stir in milk and cook until thickened. Pour sauce over fish and top with parmesan cheese. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Makes six servings.
Salt-Roast Lobster // The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider // William Morrow Cookbooks
Ingredients
2 1.5-pound lobsters
10 cups kosher salt per 1.5-lb. lobster
Preparation
Buried whole in hot salt, lobsters cook in their own juices in the shell, making them incredibly succulent; the roasted shell imparts a layer of intense, deep lobster flavor. This method is a little more work than boiling lobster, but well worth the effort. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread 10 cups kosher salt into a roasting pan just large enough to hold two 1 1/2-pound lobsters side by side. Spread an additional 10 cups kosher salt into a large ovenproof saucepan, skillet or casserole. Place in the oven to heat 20 minutes. When the salt is almost ready, kill the lobsters by plunging the tip of a chef's knife straight down through the slight indentation between the head and the body that lies about one inch behind the eyes, severing the spinal cord. Place one lobster, belly side down, on the bed of salt in the roasting pan, nestling it down into the salt slightly to keep the tail from curling up. Arrange the second lobster next to the first, with its claws parallel to the tail. Pour the pan of hot salt over the lobsters to bury them completely. Roast 25 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven and push the salt to the side of one of the lobsters. Using tongs, turn the lobster over; insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the tail. It should read 150 degrees. If not, rebury the lobster and continue roasting a few minutes longer. Take the pan out of the oven and let sit three minutes. Push the salt aside and use tongs or a kitchen towel to pull the lobsters out of the salt. Knock off any salt that clings to the shells. To make it easier to remove the meat at the table, use kitchen shears to cut the tails length-wise up the center of the cartilage. Place a kitchen towel over the claws and hit them with the side of a hammer to crack them. Serve at once with melted unsalted butter, if desired. Serves two.