Four Burgundy Seafood Dishes You Must Try

Burgundy may not be close to any coastline, but that doesn’t mean to say that there aren’t some fabulous traditional dishes involving shellfish in the Burgundy chef’s arsenal. So in this article, we’ve listed our favourite Burgundy seafood dishes — and of course let you in our secret wine choices that we serve at home, at Domaine de Cromey.  

But don’t take our word for it – why not come and join us, and book your Burgundy vacation of a lifetime here? Domaine de Cromey is our baronial manor and former chateau nestling amongst the vines in the best wine country on earth, and there is plenty to see, do and learn.  

Our Burgundy House Parties are well-known for their excellent cuisine and wine, which are central to our identity. They also provide a deep immersion into the region’s history, culture, and traditions. The experience offers a unique perspective on Burgundy. During your stay at Cromey for a Burgundy House Party, you have the freedom to choose your activities and itinerary, which might include cycling, hot air ballooning, wine tasting, cookery demonstrations, climbing, hiking – you name it! And of course, at the end of a fulfilling day, you can relax in our wine tasting room and sample some of the best wines on earth, made by our favourite 'hidden gem' winemakers, and stored in our cellars... 

Our Favourite Burgundy Seafood Dishes and The Wines We Pair Them With 

A delightfully light dish to begin with on our Burgundy seafood dishes list is the Squid and Zucchini Gratin, which is quick to assemble and easy to cook. Zucchini is definitely the ‘in’ thing at the moment and is a safe choice beloved by millions. We love it because it lets you showcase the freshness and goodness of the vegetable garden in a quick and tasty way. Choose a good-sized squid for this recipe, as the thicker the body is, the more texture the dish will have. For accompanying wine we think a Saint Romain is ideal, such as the Domaine Germain Pere et Fils Saint Romain Blanc. The freshness and minerality of Saint Romain white make it a perfect aperitif wine as well as a great complement to seafood, paiting especially well with oysters. 

A Fish and Shellfish Marmite is another great option to satisfy any craving for Burgundy seafood dishes. It’s a hearty seafood stew to gather around and enjoy. The key to this recipe is to add the fish to the sauce in the right way, at the right time - but it's not as complicated as it sounds, and it’s all explained in Ellie’s recipe book. For the best results, use good quality Italian plum tomatoes (San Marzano variety is easy to find) to add a lovely silky texture to the broth. We like to serve fish stews such as this one the Italian way, accompanied by warm bruschetta. Simply grill half-inch thick slices of good sourdough or rustic bread until lightly colored, then rub them with crushed garlic, brush with extra virgin olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. They're perfect for dipping in this delicious broth. This is a very satisfying dish, especially if you pair it with Jean Dauvissat Pere et Fils Chablis 1er Cru ‘Montmains’. This wine complements traditional dishes like andouillettes (tripe sausages) and escargots (snails). The Elise Villiers Vezelay ‘La Chevaliere’ is another great option for this dish but these wines tend to sell out very quickly due to the small number produced, so you may not always be able to find them, but other similar wines will also work well. 

We still get homesick for one thing after all these years - crabs. We were raised on the Chesapeake Bay, and crabs were a big part of our summers. We used to catch them in large quantities, which is why we’ve included this recipe for Crab with Wild Rice and Sun-Dried Tomatoes in our list. This particular dish with warm crabmeat, wild rice, sun-dried tomatoes, and a dash of espelette pepper is very close to our hearts. Crab dishes have a delicate quality to them, and we believe that a well-made Chassagne-Montrachet Chardonnay from Burgundy is the perfect wine to pair with it. The Borgeot Chassagne-Montrachet is always among our favorites, and it's a wonderful way for us to blend our old home with our new one!  

Hake and Mussels in a Parsley and Garlic Broth: The garlic and parsley butter is known as "beurre d'escargots" and we also serve it with snails in Burgundy. However, in this dish, we don't use snails... You can use any white-fleshed fish for this recipe. We prefer hake, but you may have different types of fish available where you are. This dish is best made in the spring when fresh peas and asparagus are abundant in local markets. In France, we are fortunate to have access to wonderful and plentiful Bouchot mussels from the Normandy coast. In the United States, we have found King Edward Island mussels to be delicious as well. Small clams would also be suitable for this recipe. The minerality of Saint Romain white wine complements the delicate textures of the dish and adds a note of "missing snails" to the escargot butter! For a great wine pairing, again we would look to Saint Romain – it's a handy wine to keep in stock for almost all Burgundy seafood dishes and a huge variety of starters, so we also offer it in a case of 12 bottles – with ground shipping included!  

Mussel Bouillon with Saffron, Chervil and a Crush of Butternut Squash: In this dish we use the sweet highly prized bouchot mussels from the Normandy coast that we use in the previously mentioned dish. These mussels are fabulous for Burgundy seafood dishes but there are great mussels available almost everywhere. Chervil is widely used in Burgundian cuisine, growing well in cool climates. In this bouillon, chervil binds the flavors of the mussels and the squash. Potimarron, a small gourd with a slightly "chestnutty" flavor, is a good substitute for butternut squash. When cooking mussels, ensure they are alive, and store them in a metal bowl with a damp paper towel in the refrigerator. Discard any mussels that float and don’t close up when soaked.  

Now the wine pairing for this dish really is something special. It’s a legend amongst white Burgundy wines, and is one to pull out when you really want to impress your guests and leave them with memories that will last forever. Our choice is the Jean-Jacques Girard Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru – a giant of a wine, peerless in terms of its depth and range – impeccably complex, with power, but also managing to be suave in the finish. 

Our Burgundy seafood dishes are delicious, but if you need more reasons to come and visit this most fascinating of wine regions, why not check out our series of articles on Why Visit Burgundy – which cover the people, history, terroir, grapes, and food of the place, all in sumptuous detail! You can also check out our blog at BurdundyWine.com by Elden Selections, and discover the wines we sell, and some very useful “How To” guides. And last but certainly not least – why not join our Burgundy Wine Club, open for membership now?