Seafood Boil for Two

Original Recipe by: Jessica Cameron

We always enjoy a good clam boil with all the various seafood you can incorporate, but it usually entails a large group of people, and a large amount of seafood resulting in a large bill for said goods.  We wanted a way to have a quick version of this for just the two of us that would not cost very much, but still give you that same experience.  You can see what I've used here for seafood, but I encourage you to try crab or crab legs, lobster tail, scallops. It all works, just work out the time each ingredient needs to cook properly and add at the proper time. In addition, the broth we had left over I reworked with the addition of heavy cream and chopped clams into a chowder for my husband that he enjoyed as well.  This is a way to enjoy seafood and not spend too much. I believe this whole thing cost less than $20.00.  Enjoy!

Seafood Boil for Two

• 8 clams medium size*
• 6 mussels
• 6-7 medium de- veined shrimp (26-30 count size)
• 6-7 oz Linguiça link smoked

• 4 half ears of corn on the cob
• 4 cups of peeled, cubed russet potatoes
• 2 shallots thinly sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped bacon
• 2 whole lemons (not Meyers)
• Italian Parsley roughly chopped - approximately 2 tblsp
• Olive oil- 4 tblsp
• Whole cream butter European style 4 tblsp
• White Wine (suggestion: Sauvignon Blanc) 2 cups approximately
• Chicken Stock 1 cup

     Prepare your mise en place*** as all parts need to be ready for this quick boil. Peel and cube your potatoes to approximately 1/2 inch cubes and put in a bowl of cold water to keep from browning. Have your corn defrosted and ready. Slice the shallots. Chop the bacon and linguica. Clean the mussels of beards, rinse your shrimp and clams*.  Measure out your wine and chicken broth. Chop your parsley. You're ready to go!

     Because this is a fairly short boil I'll outline this differently than my other recipes to follow your timer. Have a reliable digital timer at the ready.

     Set it for 25 minutes. Use a large stock pot (like 2-3gallons) and line the bottom of it with olive oil. Set your heat to medium and add the bacon and linguica.  Sauté until the bacon is crisp and the linguica is browned. This will take approximately 7 minutes.

     Add the shallots and sauté and additional 1 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another 30 seconds.     Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pot and add the diced potatoes.  Sauté for an additional 3 minutes until the potatoes brown a bit.  

     Add the clams and corn on the cob with 2 cups of wine and 1 cup of chicken broth.  Sauté for 4 minutes.  

     Add the mussels and steam for an additional 4 minutes.

     Add the shrimp with 4 minutes left .  Halve two lemons and squeeze all four halves Into the pot and throw in the pot.  Add 2 more tablespoons of butter and melt.  

     Once the shrimp is pink turn off the heat and pour the entire pot into a large bowl, sprinkle with the chopped parsley, and serve.  

     Serve with an empty bowl to hold the empty shells once eaten.  Additionally, serve with crusty bread and cocktail sauce for the shrimp (recipe below).  Serve with a bowl for each to enjoy the tasty broth as you each seek out the shellfish.

* 12 hours before cooking soak your clams in cold water and let sit. They will release any sand they are holding within the shell.
**Cocktail Sauce:  50% ketchup - 50% horseradish sauce - a squeeze of lemon juice mixed

***Literally "everything in place", a preparation style that entails pre-preparation of all ingredients beforehand.