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Author:
Franco Salzillo
Southern food and seafood are beautifully compatible. Colorful, fragrant and intensely flavorful, the stews, soups and roasts created in the South are life changing.
That’s the case with the famous Louisiana seafood pan roast. A tomato-based, creamy pot roast with all your favorite seafood. The best part is undoubtedly the southern seasonings that make this dish taste like home.
Before we get started, let me just say there are many versions of this exciting dish. That’s the best part of home-cooked meals; everyone makes theirs differently.
Still, I’ve taken inspiration from the seafood pan roast I tried and that I loved. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as well!
This fantastic seafood dish starts with lots of butter and all-purpose flour to make a roux, a thickener of French inspiration that gives the creamiest feel to soups and stews.
Then we’re sautéing the ‘holy trinity’ of Cajun cooking, onion, celery and bell pepper, plus garlic.
Once we’ve got a fragrant flavor base, we’ll add tomato paste and heavy cream to give this roast a creamy, almost silky mouthfeel with the rich, umami flavor of tomatoes.
Let me tell you, at this point, you’ve got yourself the base for a whole lot of dishes of Southern inspiration, but it’s the seafood that takes this one to another level.
I add shrimp, oysters and crab meat to the stew, but use any seafood you want.
Finally, a pinch of paprika, salt and pepper are just what you need to balance the whole dish. Please taste before seasoning since seafood can be quite salty already.
In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Stir constantly until golden.
Incorporate the garlic, onion, bell pepper and celery. Stir until fragrant. (4-5 minutes)
Pour in the tomato sauce and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil.
Add the heavy cream, stir to combine and throw in the shrimp, oysters and crab meat.
Season with salt, pepper and paprika.
Reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the seafood is cooked through.
Serve in a bowl with rice for the best experience.
