Easy Seafood Board
A seafood board bursting with delicious buttery shrimp, marinated calamari, smoked salmon and more. Perfect for effortless entertaining!
When it comes to feeding a crowd I often go to a board piled high with an assortment of dips, breads, crackers and proteins. I love this way of eating and I love this way of hosting. It allows your guests to make themselves plates with all the bits they like and can be fully prepared in advance.
What To Put On A Seafood Board
I like adding a few seafood elements with other elements like bread, crackers, olives or caper berries, vegetables like avocado and cucumber and lemon wedges.
- Shrimp. I added poached whole shrimp and white wine garlic shrimp. The buttery sauce is perfect served with crusty bread. Other shellfish like raw oysters, mussels, king crab legs or clams an also be added.
- Marinated calamari. Fried calamari is also a good idea.
- Easy Smoked Salmon Dip.
- Tinned mussels. Other tinned seafood like oysters, sardines, etc. can all be used. Caviar is a fancy but delicious addition.
- Smoked salmon.
- Dips: I added herbed cream cheese but aioli, Easy Sour Cream and Onion Dip or soft cheese like Boursin or goat’s cheese will also be delicious. Cocktail sauce or Marie Rose sauce will also be fantastic.
- Capers/olives. Pickles like cornichons, pickled onions or pickled jalapeños are also good options.
- Vegetables. Cucumber, avocado, cherry tomatoes, asparagus etc. will all be delicious.
- Bread/crackers. I toasted slices of baguette but you can easily just do crusty bread or focaccia. I also like crackers if you’re serving dips and tinned mussels.
- Lemon wedges.
How to put together a seafood board
- Prepare the cooked elements: If you’re cooking shrimp, mussels, crab, calamari etc. start by cooking those first. Marinated calamari and salmon dip can be made the day in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge. Poach whole shrimp in water seasoned with peppercorns, salt, lemon peel and smashed garlic cloves for the most flavor.
- Presentation tips: Grab your largest board or platter then start by adding bowls with the seafood that might be a little saucier (marinated calamari and buttery shrimp) and dips. Fill the spaces with other seafood like king crab legs and poached shrimp. Add tinned mussels in the tin – I like the way this looks on the board then fill the gaps with crackers, bread, sliced vegetables, pickled elements and garnish with fresh herbs like parsley or dill and plenty of lemon wedges.
- Serve: This board is best served immediately after assembly.
Can I make this ahead?
For easy entertaining, I know we want to be able to prepare as much in advance. All of the cold seafood elements can be made a day or two in advance and kept in the fridge. Poached shrimp (or other seafood), salmon dip and marinated calamari all fall in this category. Crostini or toasted baguette can be made a few hours in advance and kept in an airtight container. Similarly, the cucumber can be sliced a few hours in advance and kept in the fridge but I would only slice avocado right before serving.
Ingredients
For the Marinated Calamari
- 1 lb (500g) calamari cleaned and trimmed
- ½ cup olive oil avocado oil can be used too
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 red chilli finely chopped
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
For the herbed cream cheese
- 1 cup cream cheese room temperature
- 2 tbsp chopped herbs I used chives, dill and parsley
- Squeeze of lemon juice
For the poached shrimp
- 2 lb (1kg) whole prawns deveined
- 2 garlic cloves smashed
- 4 pieces lemon peel
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp peppercorns
For the seafood board
- white wine garlic shrimp
- smoked salmon dip
- 10 oz (300g) smoked salmon
- crusty bread/baguette sliced
- crackers
- 1-2 cups olives/caper berries
- 1 large cucumber sliced
- 1 avocado sliced
- 2 lemons sliced into wedges
Instructions
For the marinated calamari
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
- Once boiling, add the calamari and poach for 1-2 minutes until just cooked but still tender then drain and rinse under cold water.
- Make the marinade by whisking together the oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic, chopped chilli, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
- Add the poached calamari to the marinade then stir to coat. Allow to marinade for at least 30 minutes.
For the poached shrimp
- Add the garlic cloves, lemon peel, salt and peppercorns to a large pot then bring to the boil.
- Add the deveined shrimp and poach for 1-2 minutes then remove from the boiling water and add to a large bowl of ice water. Drain and set aside.
For the cream cheese
- Stir together the room temperature cream cheese, chopped herbs and lemon juice and transfer to a small serving bowl.
To make the seafood board
- Grab your largest board or platter then start by adding bowls with the seafood that might be a little saucier (marinated calamari and buttery shrimp) and dips.
- Fill the spaces with other seafood like king crab legs and poached shrimp.
- Add tinned mussels in the tin – I like the way this looks on the board then fill the gaps with crackers, bread, sliced vegetables, pickled elements and garnish with fresh herbs like parsley or dill and plenty of lemon wedges.
Boards for Easy Entertaining
