Quick Shellfish

By Food & Wine
Updated June 14, 2017
These fast, amazing recipes include grilled oysters with spicy tarragon butter sauce and lobster BLTs.
Start Slideshow

1 of 17

Wu-Tang Clams


John Kernick
Go to Recipe

Chef Richard Blais says he has an affinity for ’90s hip-hop, which is why he chose to name his Chinese-style clams after the Wa-Tang Clan. Incorporating sesame oil, ginger, Chinese pork sausages and bok choy, this is the be-all, end-all of clam dishes.

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 17

Clam-and-Oyster Pan Roast

© Christina Holmes
Go to Recipe

This brothy, aromatic seafood dish from chef Vivian Howard of Chef & the Farmer in Kinston, North Carolina, weaves steamed clams with traditional New Orleans creamed oysters. It's hearty but not heavy, and the winter greens make it a full meal. Crusty bread is a must for sopping up the coveted broth.

3 of 17

Crab Remick

© Eva Kolenko
Go to Recipe

John Besh and Chris Lusk's lighter interpretation of the classic New Orleans baked crab dish adds brightness with lemon juice and Dijon mustard.

Advertisement

4 of 17

Manila Clams with Hot Soppressata and Sweet Vermouth

Go to Recipe

Habetz adopted the southern Mediterranean style of pairing spicy cured meats and shellfish while working with chef Mark Ladner at Lupa in Manhattan. Today he combines hot soppressata with Manila clams, a very common West Coast shellfish; for cooks on the East Coast, he recommends using either littleneck clams or cockles.

5 of 17

Crab Cakes with Horseradish Cream

© KAREN MORDECHAI
Go to Recipe

There's really no substitute for sweet fresh crabmeat—but for a completely different taste, you could use one pound of cod, cooked and flaked.

6 of 17

Clam Pizza with Salad Topping

Go to Recipe

We've always secretly liked scooping up a bite of salad with a piece of pizza, and lately the idea of mounding dressed greens on top of pizza has caught on with hot chefs, too.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 17

Grilled Oysters with Spicy Tarragon Butter

Go to Recipe

Bubba Hiers, brother of TV cook Paula Deen, serves fantastic grilled Gulf Coast oysters smothered in butter and Parmesan cheese at Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House in Savannah. Flay modifies the recipe by topping his oysters with a blend of butter, tarragon and hot sauce, then returning them to the grill so the butter melts into little pools in the shells.

8 of 17

Toasted Spaghetti with Clams

Go to Recipe

Adrià credits the idea for this dish to one of his acolytes, Moreno Cedroni, the hyper-creative Italian chef at La Madonnina del Pescatore in Italy's Marzocca di Senigallia. The method is very similar to risotto, but spaghetti fills in for the arborio rice: Adrià toasts it in a pan with a little oil, then adds hot clam juice until the pasta is fully cooked and loaded with briny flavor.

9 of 17

Brioche Crab Melts

Rob Howard
Go to Recipe

Vitaly Paley, the chef and owner of Paley's Place, created this deliciously indulgent version of the classic tuna melt while competing in a cook-off sponsored by the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission. Pairing moist chunks of crab with brioche, truffle butter and nutty Gruyère cheese easily snagged him a first-place prize.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 17

Shrimp and Papaya Salad

Go to Recipe

This sweet, spicy salad is loaded with papaya, a rich source of vitamins A and C. When shopping for papayas, look for yellowish ones that give slightly to pressure.

11 of 17

Sizzled Shrimp Provençal

Go to Recipe

Chef Bobo makes this garlicky, lemony dish with sea scallops, but Hamilton uses jumbo shrimp because Olivia prefers it. Shrimp is an excellent source of low-fat protein and it also provides potassium and vitamin D.

12 of 17

Lobster BLTs

PHOTO © MARCUS NILSSON
Go to Recipe

Shea Gallante's delectable sandwich is filled with crunchy bacon, sweet chunks of lobster (replacing the usual lettuce) and herb-spiked mayonnaise. "When you add lobster to a sandwich, there's no way it won't be great," he says.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 17

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Go to Recipe

Traci Des Jardins created this refreshing salad to showcase one of her favorite Latin ingredients, the avocado. She tasted her first avocado during a visit to her Grandma Salazar in Mexico; she would snack on it at taco and fruit stands on the street, where it is typically served with fresh lime juice and chile salt.

14 of 17

Angel-Hair Pasta with Crab and Country Ham

Go to Recipe

Pinot Blanc, a.k.a. the poor man's Chardonnay, has a bright acidity that's terrific with dishes like this lush pasta from F&W's Marcia Kiesel. Fabulous U.S. bottlings, like the 2007 Robert Foley Vineyards from Napa and the 2006 Erath from Oregon, cost less than $25 a bottle.

15 of 17

Steamed Mussels with Tomato-and-Garlic Broth

Go to Recipe

Mussels have three things going for them: They're cheap, quick to cook, and delicious. Using clean farmed mussels negates their one big drawback—the tedious chore of scrubbing and debearding.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 17

Curried Scallops with Spinach

Go to Recipe

With few ingredients and even fewer steps, this curry is a cinch to make quickly. Most of the work is done by a blender, which ensures a silky sauce. If you don't have a blender, use a food processor; the texture will just be slightly less smooth.

17 of 17

Mussel Soup

Go to Recipe

In Provence, where fish soups are staples, they're washed down with bottles of the delicious local pink wines. Look to the mourvèdre-based rosés from Bandol for a perfect match.

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Up Next

Advertisement
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.foodandwine.com