Seasoned Greetings! I have a Christmas Eve tradition of a seafood dinner. Sometimes it's just some kind of fish, but mostly it involves a variety of fish and shellfish. If I'm feeling fancy, I might make bouillabaisse, but sushi has also made more than one appearance. And this year, in an effort to give a nod to world cuisine, I opted to make a curry. But instead of spending hours doing just that, I called upon my Instant Pot and had a seafood filled curry on the table in less than an hour. Joy to the world indeed!
I like my curries hot, so I used a clever ghost pepper puree I had in my refrigerator to set things on fire. You can opt for hot sauce or, in a pinch, crushed red pepper. I like using liquid heat when using the pressure cooker though … it distributes the heat more evenly.
The places to play around with ingredients in this recipe are the mix of seafood (you can opt for one kind or many - just aim for about a pound in total), the veggies (swap potatoes for sweet potatoes or omit the kale), and the aforementioned sources of heat. Stick with the onions, seasonings, and cream to bring it all together though.
This stew is warm, spicy, filling, and festive. Yeah, that definitely checks my boxes for a good seafood meal on Christmas Eve. Butter some hot naan and use it to dip the very last drops of this amazing sauce out of the bowl and go to bed with visions of world cuisine dancing through your head! Merry Christmas!
Curried Seafood Stew
- 2 T. butter
- 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
- 1 ½ T. minced peeled ginger
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 2 tsp. curry powder
- 1 tsp. ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp. ground fenugreek
- ½ tsp. ghost pepper puree or up to 1 T. hot sauce of your choice
- 2 c. seafood or chicken stock
- 1 lb. quartered baby potatoes
- 1 lb. mixed seafood — I used shrimp, scallops, mussels, and calamari
- 1 c. chopped kale
- 1 c. heavy cream
- Salt & pepper to taste
In the pot of your Instant Pot, melt the butter. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, and carrot; sauté on the medium setting until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the curry powder, turmeric and fenugreek and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the ghost pepper puree or other hot sauce, seafood or chicken stock, and potatoes. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and bring to high pressure and allow to cook for 10 minutes. When the timer goes off, allow the pot to rest for 10 minutes before manually releasing the pressure.
Add the mixed seafood, kale, and cream to the pot and stir to combine. Allow to warm for another 5 minutes before tasting and adjusting the seasoning. Serve hot.
- Yields: 6 servings
- Preparation Time: 45 minutes