Dragon Stew

Dragon Stew

Recipe By: Jeff Bland, Center of the Plate Specialist, US Foodservice, Roanoke Division.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Leek, the white part, well cleaned and diced

Salt and Pepper to taste

12 Pieces large Shrimp, peeled and deveined

8 Pieces of Sea Scallops

1 half Cup of White wine

1 Cup Crushed Tomatoes

1 Cup Seafood or Chicken Stock/Broth

1 Potato, peeled and diced, par cooked

1 Cup Heavy Cream

To taste, Fresh Tarragon Leaves, chopped

1 fourth Cup of Fresh Parsley, chopped

4 Ounces Crab Meat

Instructions:

In a hot skillet, sautA? diced leeks in olive oil until tender. Season shrimp and scallops with salt and pepper and add to the pan and sear until about half way cooked through; this will happen very fast. Remove the seafood from the pan and deglaze with wine. Add crushed tomatoes, seafood stock, par cooked potatoes, and cream and cook until it just starts to thicken slightly. Add the tarragon leaves and parsley; and then add the par cooked seafood back to the pan. Cook everything together and taste, adjust seasoning as necessary. Just before you are ready to plate, stir in the crab meat. Serve in a nice bowl, dividing the seafood equally between every bowl. Serve with a slice of grilled French bread on the side.

The flavor of tarragon can be strong so be subtle with seasoning with this herb.

You can use dried tarragon in place of the fresh but you will not need as much.

If you do not like the anise flavor of tarragon, substitute your favorite herb or flavoring.

Tarragon, also known as the "dragon herb", is the main flavoring of this dish. You could maybe say the shrimp resemble dragon tails.

Use any combination of your favorite seafood varieties in this dish like mussels, clams, fish, oysters, calamari, etc. If you do not like seafood, you can use chicken, beef, and pork in place of all seafood items.