The most inexpensive and relatively affordable way to pamper yourself with shrimp, mussels, squid and octopus is to make a seafood cocktail. You can buy it in almost any supermarket or other large store in the metropolis, the choice of packaging options is also at the level. One problem: very often, when defrosting, seafood gives so much water that it becomes sad. It is unlikely that such a dense glazing (this is because of it, when thawing, a frozen sea cocktail loses almost a quarter of its weight) is necessary. But we have no choice but to accept and buy more than necessary in advance.
It is necessary
- - Seafood cocktail;
- - butter or vegetable oil;
- - spices;
- - vegetables;
- - rice or noodles;
- - cream;
- - White wine;
- - balsamic vinegar;
- - frying pan;
- - stewpan;
- - spoons;
- - knives;
- - cocotte makers;
- - cutting board.
Instructions
Step 1
If you decide to serve the seafood cocktail as an independent dish, just place it on a heated frying pan, cover with a lid, reduce the heat and hold until completely defrosted (sea cocktail is not thawed in advance). Do not season with salt or seasoning at this stage. Due to the high percentage of moisture that comes out of seafood, it is now easy to overdo it with additives. When the seafood cocktail is thawed (it usually takes 2-4 minutes, depending on the degree of heating), remove the lid, add a piece of butter, season with spices to taste and increase the heat. This is a basic recipe and may have variations.
Step 2
If you want to delight homemade Mediterranean-style seafood, pre-fry a couple of thyme or rosemary sprigs, chopped shallots and a chive of garlic crushed by the wide side of a knife blade. After 3-4 minutes. add frozen seafood cocktail, salt and pour in some white wine. Keep on the stove until the liquid has almost completely evaporated, then remove the sprigs of herbs and serve, garnished with either halves of grilled bell peppers, or eggplant, or concasse tomatoes, preheated and seasoned with a couple of drops of balsamic vinegar.
Step 3
When deciding to make an Asian-style seafood cocktail, take out the appropriate utensils. The best option is a wok with a hemispherical bottom. In the absence of such a frying pan, take a deep saucepan or a regular skillet with relatively high sides. Frozen seafood cocktail in this recipe does not need to be defrosted. Fry the finely chopped ginger root and garlic in soy or peanut butter, add lemongrass (lemongrass) and galangal if available. The last two ingredients are a common seafood addition in China or Japan. They are also sold with us; in almost all more or less large stores, you can buy them fresh or dried for a long time. Once the oil in the wok has absorbed the gingerbread vegetable aromas, add the frozen seafood smoothie. Saute quickly over high heat and serve immediately with rice or traditional Asian noodles - udon, sama, harusame.
Step 4
Make a wonderful julienne from a seafood cocktail. Place the frozen seafood in a saucepan with a lid and keep on low heat until the icing turns into water. Raise heat and let the excess liquid evaporate. Season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, in another frying pan, fry the onions in butter, sprinkle with flour, when it acquires a slightly nutty color, dilute with heavy cream and salt. Remove the cocktail from the heat, distribute it over the cocotte makers - small, often ceramic or metal forms, in which julienne is traditionally prepared and served. It is important that the seafood is no more than half the height. Pour in the creamy mixture, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake until golden brown. The "favorite" place of this hot snack is on the festive table.
Step 5
Italians, who know a lot about good food, in the absence of fresh seafood at some point, would prepare one of their national dishes with a sea cocktail - risotto. Fry a couple of thyme sprigs in a deep saucepan, then immediately remove them and add the rice. Some of the best varieties suitable for risotto are carnaroli and arborio. Their main advantage is that they perfectly retain their shape and the necessary structure during a relatively long heat treatment, and in the finished form the rice is perfectly connected to each other, but at the same time does not turn into porridge, as it happens when using cereals of other varieties. Pour the fish broth into fried rice, the grains of which have acquired the necessary transparency, slowly, literally over a ladle. When the rice swells, add the seafood cocktail and the shallots pre-fried in butter, then pour in the cream and season with salt and white pepper. The consistency of the finished dish should remain pouring. If you take it on a spoon and turn it over, the risotto drips, and does not flop, as inevitably happens with mashed potatoes. It is this seafood risotto that is considered the benchmark. Unless in the middle of cooking it would be nice to add 100-120 ml of white wine - however, this is a matter of taste.
Step 6
A frozen seafood cocktail can make a great salad. Simmer the seafood in one of the ways described above, cool. In the meantime, prepare vegetables, such as colored bell peppers, which need to be peeled, cut into quarters and, with salt, baked until half cooked; tomatoes - concasse (diced, without skin and seeds), grilled garlic, olives or olives. As a dressing for such a salad, dressing of olive oil and lemon juice, taken in equal proportions, is suitable. Toss all the ingredients with the dressing in a deep salad bowl and garnish with fresh basil leaves for the final accord. You've just made almost a restaurant salad - so what if you used a frozen seafood cocktail for it.
