Captain's Seafood Casserole

The flavorful sauce in this dish dresses up any seafood combination. The recipe calls for shrimp, crab, and white fish, but you could use a combination of any two, or substitute lobster, so long as there are 18 ounces of seafood in all.

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 medium green pepper -- finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion -- finely chopped
1 cup mushrooms -- thinly sliced
1 cup white sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
6 ounces crabmeat -- flaked
6 ounces cooked flounder -- flaked or any white fish such as halibut or hake
6 ounces cooked shrimp -- shelled and deveined
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

White Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup milk

Tuna variation:
Increase the white fish to 12 ounces and substitute 6 1/2 ounces of water-packed tuma for the shrimp and crab.

Make White Sauce:
Melt the butter over low heat in a heavy saucepan. Blend in flour, salt and pepper; cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat, stir in milk. Bring to a boil; boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened (up to 10 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter in a heavy 12-inch skillet over moderately low heat. Add the green pepper, onion, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushroom liquid has evaporated -- about 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the white sauce, mayonnaise, and mustard. Fold in the crabmeat, white fish, shrimp, and rice; then spoon the mixture into a 2-quart casserole.

At this point the casserole can be cooled to room temperature and refrigerated, covered tightly, for up to 8 hours.

Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until the casserole is heated through and the top is golden brown. If baking after refrigerated, bake tightly covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes, then uncover, sprinkle with the bread crumbs and bake 30 minutes more or until heated through.

Servings: 4
Source: Cook Now, Serve Later by Reader's Digest, 1989