This seafood medley is the kind of dish I always order when I’m at the beach, at one of those special/casual restaurants you only find at the shore, where the fish is fresh off the boat and fabulous, and the prices are steep but they won’t blink if you show up in your bathing suit (cover-up appreciated). Love those places.
But at home, I always seem to want to make this dish in the deep of winter, specifically the holidays. Maybe it’s because in the summer I want to be outside, grilling, instead of in kitchen cranking up the broiler. Or maybe it’s because a bath of butter and a bubbling crust of buttery crackers make this dish so rich and decadent, it naturally deserves a spot on a special holiday menu. New Year’s Eve wouldn’t be out of the question at all.
For something that looks so spectacular, this seafood medley is surprisingly quick and simple to make. The only tricky part is in gauging the cooking time correctly. It’s important that all of the seafood is in pieces of approximately the same size, so everything cooks at the same rate. I use the scallops as a baseline, and cut the fish into pieces the same size as the scallops. Then I make sure to choose a size of shrimp that will give me 4 shrimp that weigh the same as 6 scallops. It doesn’t have to be EXACT, but the closer you get to these proportions the more likely it is that all three of these different types of seafood will cook to perfection.
Using the size of the scallops as a guide, plan on a total broiling time of 4 minutes for every inch in diameter. The scallops I used for this post were 1½ inches, so the total broiling time, including after adding the topping, was 6 minutes.
This recipe is written to serve 2 but it’s easy to multiply. I recommend staying with the single-serving dishes rather than making this in a large casserole dish; if you were to spoon portions of this out of the dish onto plates, it would be impossible to keep the buttery cracker-crumb crust in place on top where it belongs
Don’t make this ahead and don’t plan on leftovers. This dish is quick to put together so you don’t need to do anything in advance. And seafood just doesn’t reheat well so enjoy this when it’s hot and bubbling, fresh from the broiler.
Broiled Seafood Medley
If your shrimp and scallops are larger or smaller than the sizes indicated, broil a few minutes more or less - approximately 4 minutes total per inch in diameter. Do try to find shrimp and scallops that are the same size, and cut the fish into pieces that same size, so everything cooks through at the same rate.
Ingredients
- 4 jumbo (12-15 count) shrimp (5 to 6 ounces), shelled and deveined
- 6 medium-large (1½-inch diameter) sea scallops (5 to 6 ounces)
- 5 to 6 ounces firm white fish such as cod or haddock, cut into 6 equal pieces
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1 medium clove garlic, minced
- 1 lemon
- 8 buttery crackers (such as Townhouse), crushed into crumbs
- Kosher salt
Directions
- Step 1 Dry the seafood with paper towels, then chill it uncovered while preparing the sauce and topping.
- Step 2 Heat the broiler to high and place a rack 4 inches from the heat.
- Step 3 Heat 4 tablespoons of the butter with the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until bubbling. Add the shallot and cook it until it starts to soften, 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant but not brown, 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the juice of half the lemon. Cut the other lemon half into 2 wedges for garnish and set them aside.
- Step 4 Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan and stir in the crushed crackers. Set them aside.
- Step 5 Put two individual serving-sized gratin dishes onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Spoon enough of the butter/shallot mixture into the dishes to line them with a thin layer.
- Step 6 Sprinkle the seafood with salt. Arrange the seafood in the dishes, dividing it evenly. Spoon the remaining butter/shallot sauce over the seafood.
- Step 7 Set the baking sheet under the broiler for 4 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and scatter the cracker crumb mixture over the seafood. Broil 2 minutes more, or until the seafood is just cooked through and the cracker crumbs are golden brown, watching closely to make sure it doesn’t burn.
- Step 8 Garnish each dish with a lemon wedge to serve.
Excellent…five stars for sure. I followed the recipe almost exactly and wife & I both loved and plan on making again and again. I used six each of the scallops and shrimp, and about 10 oz of cod. Only one minor adjustment that in step 7 I had to turn some of the seafood and broil another 4 minutes before scattering the cracker crumbs.
Thank you, Tom! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!