Irish Seafood Pot Pie

Cooking Irish can also be found at PETITCHEF and Pinterest.

This dish is actually not Irish though it could be since so many Irish dishes contain seafood.  We had this entrée on a two-week holiday in the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa near Morocco.  The Canaries we discovered are the vacation spot for Europeans--like Americans visit the Caribbean Islands.  Along the beaches, in the hotels, at all the tourist sites we heard German, Swedish, Italian, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Spanish, and French accents.  In the mid-eighties my children and I encountered no other Americans.  I still do not think the Canary Islands are a popular US tourist destination. 

The Canaries are part of Spain. My daughter Erin really helped out with shopping using her middle school Spanish. The Canaries were the site of the filming of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns.  You can visit the film site and have a western-style barbecue and dance.  My children and I had a great time there.  There are many nude beaches which was a great surprise to my innocent children.  They were amazed that 70-year old couples would take off their suits at the beach, rinse them out, put them back on, and walk back to their hotels.  The food was wonderful.  There were boardwalks near all the beaches with wonderful shops and restaurants.  I have never before or since seen cakes like those displayed in all the windows of the cafes--they had to be 10 layers.  We took a shark fishing cruise along the African coast for the day and went to the bullfights.  [They do not kill the bulls.] 

Another day we took a camel ride to an orange grove and had a wonderful Spanish luncheon at a hacienda in the middle of the grove. I still remember the beautiful colorful pottery on the tables and around the large patio.  But I also remember the breath of the camel behind me.  Felicia became infatuated with me, and I was her captive prisoner since we were the first to be put on the camels and had to wait for the other 60 people to mount.  [The animal was actually a dromedary since it only had one hump.]  The camels were roped together so she had easy access to me.  She kept trying to lick me.  I was almost overcome by her putrid breath.  She knocked my sunglasses off in her obsessive attempt to get at me.  What an experience.  I still say the most disgusting odor I have ever smelled is her breath.  All in all it was a great holiday.  And I do love the European term holiday instead of the American word vacation and all that it implies.  To vacate is so less optimistic a word than holiday. The paella was to die for.  My daughter loved it and had no idea she was eating octopus.  I will include that recipe in another post and tell you some of the many comments about American parents and their childrearing habits as viewed by Europeans.  Now on to more fragrant aromas.

Erin on her camel getting ready to go on the camel march to the orange grove for lunch in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. 

And Eli on his.

Irish Seafood Pot Pie

Ingredients:

3 oz. of butter
Juice from fresh lemon
Garlic clove, crushed and minced
8 oz. of shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 oz. of lump crab
8 oz. of lobster
8 oz. of sea scallops
8 oz. of haddock or cod
2 tbsp. of fresh flat parsley, chopped
6 tbsp. of butter
2 tbsp. of flour
1½ cups of lobster, fish, clam, or chicken stock
½ cup of sherry
½ cup of heavy cream
Salt and white pepper to taste
1 pie crust recipe or puff pastry

Preparation:

Cut all the seafood into large bite-sized pieces.  Melt the 3 oz. of butter in a skillet.  Add the seafood, parsley, garlic, and lemon juice.  Cook until meat is translucent.  Do not overcook. Let stand.  In a heavy 3-quart saucepan, melt the butter.  Whisk in the flour until smooth and bubbly.  A dark roux is not needed.  Gradually add the stock, whisking for about 5 minutes until the mixture is smooth and thick. Add the sherry and cream bringing the mixture to a boil and thicken.  Reduce the heat to low and add the seafood with a slotted spoon.

Preheat oven to 375°.  Butter all sides of a large soufflé pan.  Add the seafood. Cover with the pie crust or puff pastry. Bake until the pie crust is golden brown about 30 to 40 minutes.  Enjoy this filling, comfort food that is truly something special on a cold wintry evening.  I usually cook asparagus or broccoli in the skillet with the scampi liquid. I don't like to waste anything--must be that I was raised by parents who lived during the depression and WWII.