Seafood Casserole

Using Frozen Seafood

You may find frozen seafood to be an excellent value and convenience in your cooking. The key to using frozen fish and seafood is to carefully pick your recipes. Basically anything that comes with a liquid, as in this easy fish soup recipe, will cover up the fact that thawed frozen seafood is always a bit soggy and less flavorful then fresh.

A dish such as this easy shrimp recipe doesn't work well with frozen seafood. There is very little sauce and the emphasis is really on the shrimp itself, so it needs to be succulent, firm and fresh.

The key to cooking any seafood, frozen or otherwise, is to do things quickly. Over-cooking shrimp, scallops and other delicacies causes them to become rubbery and fish just falls apart. In this recipe, it isn't necessary or even recommended to prethaw the seafood. Instead place frozen seafood in simmering water: it will thaw and cook (if necessary) rapidly.

Here in France we can easily find seafood mixes in the grocery store. The one I use for this seafood casserole is a mixture of shrimp, mussels, squid and scallops that have already been cooked before freezing. If you can find similar, I highly recommend using it for this recipe.

Otherwise, come up with your own combination of seafood - just aim to have about two pounds of seafood for this seafood casserole that serves six.

You can either bake this seafood casserole in one large casserole dish for serving as a main course, or you can bake it in individual ramekins and serve it as starter course. Either way, it will be delicious.

If you are only going to invest in one fish cookbook, this may very well be your best choice. Fish and Shellfish: The Cook's Indispensable Companion covers everything the amateur home cook needs to know to about cooking fish and seafood. Highly recommended.

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