Who says seafood and cheese don’t go together? These delicious classic dishes will bust that myth forever! Enjoy these tasty seafood and cheese recipes. Scroll down to discover more classic cheese and seafood combinations and for tips on how to combine seafood and cheese.
Slightly nutty gruyere appears in several classic seafood dishes, including scallop mornay and lobster thermidor, which are both delicious sauces made properly with a good hit of mustard.
Grated pecorino or parmesan is often mixed into breadcrumbs to gratinée mussels or crab; or to coat calamari, sardines or anchovies. In Puglia pecorino is liberally layered with potato, tomato and onion in a dish of rice-stuffed mussels (tiella Barese). In Italian Food Elizabeth David gives a very simple recipe for sole baked with butter and parmesan with a squeeze of lemon.
In the southern French port of Nice, tiny fish, called poutine and nonnat (neonata in Italian) are traditionally cooked in a noodle soup with saffron and grated cheese.
Saganaki prawns, or prawn saganaki (called garídes mé féta in Greek) is a delicious dish of prawns in a tomato sauce with chunks of melting feta.
Comfort food like tuna mornay, lobster mac & cheese, and shrimp & grits are all popular dishes combining seafood and cheese. Smoked salmon (lox) on bagels with cream cheese is another classic cheese and seafood combo. Even Caesar salad combines anchovies and parmesan.
Mild washed rind cheeses, such as Fontina are good with richer fish, especially smoked fish.
In Mediterranean Seafood, Alan Davidson gives a recipe from a Parisian chef for grouper cooked with a mild blue cheese (Bleu de Bresse).
Combining seafood and cheese can be done by either matching flavours or contrasting them. So salty fish like anchovies can be matched with salty cheese like pecorino or parmesan OR contrasted with creamy cheese that has a touch of acid – such as Persian fetta or goat cheese – to balance the saltiness.
Smoked fish and smoked cheese (such as provola, buffalo mozz, scamorza) are a great combo.
Soft, creamy, mild cheese marries well with sweet, mildly-flavoured seafood. Stracciatella with crudo is a classic combination in Puglia that allows both cheese and seafood to shine.
