Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Cooking with Seafood and Herbs

herbs mainly for treating everyday maladies. But then I got married and I started to cook more often. I love to experiment and cook new recipes. So I started to try new ingredients, new condiments, seasonings. So I discovered herbs for cooking. Herbs enrich the flavor and odor of food. They just give that special touch to a dish.

My other passion is seafood - all kinds of seafood. So you can already guess that I love to combine seafood with herbs. Dill, fennel and marjoram are herbs that combine very well with fish. Not everybody like coriander (or cilantro) but it is very often used in the Asian cuisine, and coriander goes perfect with a coconut seafood recipe. Ginger and lemongrass are also common herbs used in Asian recipes. Bay and thyme are great seasonings for seafood soups, stews and chowders. Parsley and chives go always well with a seafood salad. And basil is the perfect partner for tomatoes. Therefore, if you are preparing some seafood recipe with a tomato sauce you can enrich its flavor with basil leaves (preferably fresh leaves).

Below you can find some seafood recipes, where thyme, parsley, dill and chives are used.

New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients:
2 pounds clams, scrubbed and rinsed
4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into strips
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
1 large potato, cut into small cubes
1 leave leek
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
1. Put the clams in a large pot with some water and cook over high heat for about 5 to 10 minutes or until the clams are open. Discard any unopened clam. Strain the clams, reserving the broth. Set aside to cool down.
2. When the clams are cool, remove them from their shells and chop the big ones.
3. Cook the bacon until brown and crisp, then pour off all the bacon fat, reserving the bacon. In the same pot, melt the butter and saute onion until it get soft but not burnt. Add thyme, potatoes, clam broth, milk and leek and bring to boil. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender.
4. In a blender or food processor blend until smooth.
5. Pour the blended mixture in the pot. Stir in the clams, cream and bacon and season with the pepper and the salt to taste. Place the pot in the heat and slowly reheat for 2-3 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve.


Layered Crab Salad Recipe

Ingredients:
4 cup torn lettuce
2 cups (1/2 pound) fresh pea pods, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cup chopped red peppers
2 cups chopped cucumber
1 1/2 cup crabmeat or 1 package (8 oz.) imitation crabmeat
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried dill weed or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Sweet red pepper rings
Fresh dill sprigs
Salt to taste


Directions:
1. In a 2-1/2 quart clear glass serving bowl, layer lettuce, pea pods, chopped peppers, cucumber and crabmeat.
2. Combine mayonnaise, sugar and dill; spread over crab. Season with salt. Cover and chill several hours or overnight.
3. Garnish with pepper rings and dill.



About the Author
To find more seafood recipes prepared with herbs come to my site: http://www.weloveseafood.com

You can also find other crab salad recipes and clam chowder recipes

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