To enjoy gourmet recipes, there is nothing better than a seafood platter. Any occasion is good to enjoy with family, friends, or colleagues. Packed with vitamins and minerals, it is suitable for all types of
To enjoy gourmet recipes, there is nothing better than a seafood platter. Any occasion is good to enjoy with family, friends, or colleagues. Packed with vitamins and minerals, it is suitable for all types of diets. To make it irresistible, you need the right ingredients, the right beverage, and the right garnish. Find out how to make your seafood platter a success.
What to put on a seafood platter?
During the summer season, enjoying a seafood platter is a must. However, before filling your platter with lobster, crawfish, and langoustine, you need to consider the tastes of each member of your family. Budget, choice, and appetite also dictate the quantity needed.
Generally speaking, this dish is composed of cooked or raw shellfish and shellfish, depending on their availability and the season. It is presented with lobster or spiny lobster, crab or spider crab, clam or sea almond, whelk, and grey shrimp. Pink shrimp, oysters and curlers, langoustines, and periwinkles are always welcome in it.
If you are vacationing in the region, you don’t need to prepare everything. Just make a reservation in a restaurant with a beautiful view of the sea that has typical seafood specialties. You will have a wide choice of garnishes, sauces, and wines.
What are the accompaniments for seafood?
Usually, the seafood dish is self-sufficient, so you don’t need to prepare a starter. But carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes are a welcome appetizer to balance it out.
To enhance the flavors of seafood, there are many combinations. Enjoy your dish with spicy vegetarian rice, beet salad, parsley sauce, or parsley butter. Similarly, a lamb’s lettuce salad with apples and hazelnuts, a creamy saffron sauce, and lemon butter can be enjoyed with all varieties of seafood. As a garnish, you can also opt for a creamy sauce or a lemon curry sauce. Many gourmets also refer to rye bread as the “seafood platter bread”. It can be used as a sandwich or a canapé, depending on your taste.
To enjoy your shellfish, you can accompany it with mayonnaise. As an exception, you can prepare specific sauces for shellfish: cocktail sauce and beurre blanc.
What to drink with seafood?
A small glass of wine is always welcomed with a big smile when it comes with a seafood platter. A Chablis Grand Cru Blanc or a Sancerre go perfectly with cold lobsters with a sauce as a first aperitif. The evening will be deliciously gourmet with a Menetou – Salon Blanc, as this wine goes well with this type of dish. You can also serve a Champagne blanc de blancs or Pouilly-fumé for an exceptional meal.
Oysters and poulards
The foot of the oyster is removed with a knife, and then the contents of the oyster are gently sucked out. In a public place, for a question of convenience, it is preferable to use an oyster fork to remove the contents of the shell. They can also be eaten with sea water without making a sound. Purists sometimes accompany them with a dash of lemon or a little shallot vinegar.
Mussels and cockles
We also use a fork to savor them if we don’t want to use our fingers. To fully enjoy their flavor, especially for mussels prepared with cream, white wine, or curry, you can also use an empty shell to open the mussel, remove the contents, and put it in your mouth.
Scampi, shrimp, and prawns
Shucking lobsters are more technical, so it is even more complicated if you are in public places. To help you, use your fingers to remove the hard part. Then, taste them with a fork. There is an exception for the small grey, pink and other prawns. After peeling them with a fork or a knife, separate the body from its head and feet. You can then pierce the flesh or remove the shell with a knife.
Crab
To appreciate a crab in a public place, you need a nutcracker to tear off the legs and claws of its body. To remove the iodized flesh of the crab, you can use a fork to enjoy the crab in peace.
Whelks and periwinkles
The crab fork is again useful for taking the meat. If you don’t like the end of the whelk body, you can leave it in the shell. The taste will be better with mayonnaise.
Sound off in the comments section below, and tell us what you want to read next and if you want to read more about seafood.