Seafood may seem like weekend food, but it’s only deceptively complicated. The reality is, delicious seafood comes together quickly, and most effort expended is from prep, not cooking. (If you enlist a partner, that takes no time either). We’re here to dispel the notion that crab or shrimp is too involved for a weeknight dinner or inexperienced home cook. Simple and low-stakes, these recipes profile the excellent flavor and quality of our seafood — you don’t need experience, fancy ingredients, or much knowledge by way of technique. You don’t even need more than a half hour. All you need is a box of seafood from Sitka Seafood Market and just a pinch of courage — we’ll help you do the rest.
1. Spicy Hot Mess Crab Legs with Garlic Butter and Parsley
This dish is so elegant that its cook-time may draw suspicion. But yes — in 20 minutes you can have vibrant, flavor-packed crab legs on the table. Lemon and red pepper flakes add some oomph to this sweet, butter-heavy dish, which we recommend serving alongside a sparkling riesling. A word of warning: opening these crab legs to reach their luxurious meat is a messy process. Make sure to keep napkins, crackers, or bread close at hand to soak up the delicious garlic butter.
2. Linguine with Spot Shrimp Fra Diavolo

This recipe is perfect for even the most amateur cooks. Pasta takes center stage in this dish, and everyone can make pasta, right? Cook your noodles separately, and then sauté peeled shrimp (no shells to worry about) in olive oil, garlic, and red pepper for just a few minutes.
3. Smoky Peel and Eat Shrimp a la Plancha

This recipe calls for a hands-on eating experience.You’ll need to remove the shrimp’s roe and make an incision down each shell, and then quickly cook with the shells on — that’s it! We use paprika to impart a slightly smoky flavor, while butter, garlic, and lemon add richness and kick. If hands-on eating isn’t your thing, peel the shrimp completely ahead of time.
4. Warm Curried Crab Dip

Yes, you can host on weeknights, and this crab dip is what you serve. Elegant, timeless, and absolutely decadent, it’s perfect for a planned party, or for when drinks spill over into dinner. Serve with crusty bread, pita, or beet chips, and keep the cocktails coming.
5. Shrimp Tortilla Soup

This soup is light but hearty, perfect for cold evenings that call for a warm dinner without the post-meal sluggishness. It’s easy enough to up the spice factor with poblano chile, but as temperatures drop, we find ourselves craving that eye-watering, sinus-clearing heat you can only get from a fiery broth.