An Ode to St. Patrick’s Day

You gotta’ love a holiday whose major celebration is drinking too much green beer to wash down the fish and chips. To be fair, Irish cuisine is much more than fried food (though that’s good too). With a robust fishing industry, Ireland serves up excellent seafood. And it shines in this recipe for a seafood shepherd’s pie.

Overview

My first time in Ireland, I had very low expectations of the culinary scene. I love me some fish and chips though, so I thought I’d sustain myself at pubs throughout Ireland. The irony is I actually didn’t care much for fish and chips in Ireland. Why? Because generally the fish was fried with the skin. I know all the nutrients and brain power is in the skin, but it’s just not my thing. Luckily, I discovered a seafood shepherd’s pie on many pub menus. Normally I would be wary of eating seafood that’s not fried to a crisp (at last in a bat setting), but in Ireland, the seafood is so fresh. The Irish have one of the major fishing industries in the world; you’ll even see groups from Japan who come to observe the seafood industry in Ireland. In fact, in the Isle of Skye, one of the most remote parts of Ireland, is a destination restaurant called Three Chimneys. Experts in the fishing industry come from all parts of the globe to eat here. So, any type of seafood chowder, and especially this seafood shepherd’s pie, became my go-to dishes. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Ingredients

5 – 6 cups of mashed potatoes*
3/4 lb bay scallops
1 lb cod or halibut, cut into about 1 inch squares
3/4 lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into halves
3 lobster tails, out of the shell and cut into chunks
2 lb mussels, steamed and out of their shells
14 clams, steamed and out of their shells
2 leeks, white part only
5 shallots, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups concentrated vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons tarragon, finely chopped
4 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
Olive oil
Fleur du sel to taste
Pepper to taste
Basil or herbs of choice to garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

There is a way to make this dish dairy free with oat milk, and in my opinion, because you’re using an intense vegetable broth, it’s just as good. Also I like to puree half the leek, celery and shallot mixture as it adds a thick and creamy texture to the shepherds pie that creates that dairy richness.

The Mashed Potatoes

For the mashed potatoes, I like the traditional method with lots of butter half-and-half and whole milk. This is the base for our rendition of Modern Mashed Potatoes. Just remember that all mashed potatoes start out with a big pot of cold, salted water. If you salt the water properly, you actually don’t need to add any additional salt to the potatoes once they’re cooked. Alternatively, you can follow our recipe for goat-cheese mashed potatoes, though Italians will be mortified (in their world, dairy doesn’t go with seafood). Whichever potato you choose, it’s the foundation of the seafood shepherd’s pie, and what makes this dish so special. Besides the seafood, of course.

It’s Time to Make the Seafood Shepherd’s Pie

In a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot, heat 3–4 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Crank the heat down to medium and add your shallots. Cook for about three minutes, but do not brown. Add the finely-sliced leeks and celery, and continue to cook until just soft, about four minutes more. Place 1/2 of your mixture in a blender with about one cup of the vegetable broth. Puree until smooth, and set aside.

In the same Dutch oven, heat about three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook (but don’t brown) for about 3–4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the remaining broth and tarragon, and continue to stir until reduced to about three quarters of the original volume. Next, add the uncooked fish, shrimp, lobster and scallops, and make sure that all are in bite-size chunks. Cook gently for about 6 minutes. Add in the milk, the pureed leek mixture, and the finely chopped parsley. Cook over medium for another five minutes.

In a pretty presentation dish that you can serve on the table, place the seafood mixture, which should be nice and thick. Alternatively, you can also keep the seafood chowder in the Dutch oven and serve it from there. Stir in the clams and mussels. With a pastry bag, pipe the cooked potatoes on top.  In a separate bowl, combine five tablespoons of panko or breadcrumbs, four tablespoons of parmesan cheese, and about one tablespoon of olive oil. Place on top of the potatoes. Transfer to the oven and cook for about 15–20 minutes. For the last four minutes, broil the top until brown. Serve piping hot.