Ingredients
Scale
Bottom layer of the casserole:
- 1 ½ cups uncooked long grain rice, such as basmati
OR 4 cups already cooked - 3 tbsps butter
- 4 celery ribs, thinly sliced
- 1 medium onion, chopped into small pieces
- 1 medium carrot, chopped into small pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 3 tbsps minced fresh parsley
- ½ tsp dill weed
Seafood layer:
- 1 lb uncooked medium shrimp – peeled and deveined
- 1 lb bay scallops
- 16 oz canned crabmeat – drained, flaked, and cartilage removed
OR fresh crab meat, chopped
OR imitation crab meat, chopped - 5 tbsps butter
- 5 tbsps all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups milk (you can use half and half cream to make it richer if you like)
- 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cut into cubes
- ½ tsp dill weed
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
Topping:
- 8 slices of bread, ripped into small pieces (about the size of croutons)
- 4 tbsps butter, melted
Optional but recommended – lemon wedges to serve on the side with the casserole. Lemon sprinkled on top gives this recipe a little extra yumminess! Soooo good!
[adinserter name="Follow DDB on Pinterest"]Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease with butter, a 13″x9″ glass baking dish and set aside
- Important: For this recipe, you’ll need to cook the rice first! Do not add uncooked rice in the rice layer below, it needs to be cooked first! Cook the rice according to package directions and set aside OR if you’re using leftover rice, make sure you have it measured and ready to use for the recipe.
To Make the Bottom Rice Layer:
- In a large frying pan or skillet, on medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add celery, onion and carrot pieces and cook until tender. Add garlic, salt and pepper and cook for about 1-2 minutes longer.
- To the pan, add cooked basmati rice along with parsley and dill. Stir to combine.
- Transfer the rice mixture to the greased 13″x9″ baking dish. Use a large spoon to make sure the rice is evenly distributed on the bottom of the casserole.
To Make the Seafood Layer:
- Fill a large saucepan with water about half way with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- To the saucepan, add shrimp and scallops. Cook until shrimp turn pink and the scallops are firm – about 5 minutes.
- Drain the water from seafood but reserve about 1 cup of liquid and set aside.
- Place shrimp and scallops in a bowl large enough to hold all the yumminess! Then gently add the crab meat. If you’re using canned crab meat, combine gently as chunks may break apart easily.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Using a whisk, stir in flour to make a roux (aka thickener). Once the flour and butter turn slightly golden brown and a little bubbly (about 2-3 min), stir in the milk and the reserved water from cooking your seafood before.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cream cheese, dill, salt, pepper and thyme. Stir until combined and smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the bowl with your cooked seafood and combine. Pour this over the rice layer in your casserole dish.
Top Layer and to Finish:
- In a mixing bowl, toss the bread with melted butter. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the casserole.
- Bake 60 minutes in the oven or until golden brown.
- Let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Main
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American/Canadian
