TIME FOR SCALLOPS

 

                                                    Time for Scallops

           Late fall and winter brings us the freshest scallops, these tender versatile morsels from the sea. Seared large sea scallops can be found in many restaurants throughout the year, presented as glistening plump browned morsels on your plate, but now is the season.

Sea scallop appearance is more impressive, but the smaller bay scallops are actually more tender and have more flavor. When buying for home use look for “dry-packed” scallops, which are scallops not treated with a preservative solution of phosphate leading them to appear whiter and retain up to 30% water, which makes them watery upon cooking.

The delicate flavor of scallops lends them to different flavor pairings, the simplest of which is just searing them on a hot pan with unsalted butter and a little oil for 2-3 minutes to a side and served with a wedge of lemon and a sprinkling of parsley. They are beautiful served on pasta, rice or even polenta.

Many old recipes prepare them served in a white wine or cream sauce with mushrooms. My all-time favorite has been Coquilles St. Jacques, which sad to say can rarely be found on restaurant menus. This recipe name dates to the time when pilgrims visited the shrine of St. James of Compostella, ate the scallops for penance and fastened the cockle shells to their hats. My recipe is only some 50 years old and comes from Fernande Garvin’s “The Art of French Cooking” on my shelf still held together by tape after many years of use. I have recently started to add some slivered sundried tomato strips for eye appeal, but the flavor remains delicate.     

                   Updated Coquilles St. Jacques Parisienne

You can use either sea or bay scallops for this recipe, but the sea scallops will need to be cut in smaller pieces after the first step.

1)    In a large pan combine: 1 ½  lb. scallops, 1 ½  cups dry white wine, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, 3-4 soft sundried tomatoes slivered in thin strips. Bring slowly to boil and simmer gently 5 minutes for sea scallops and 3 minutes for bay scallops.

2)    Drain, set cooking liquid aside and cut sea scallops in quarters.

3)    In the saucepan melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, stir in 2 tablespoons flour and stirring constantly add cooking liquid and 1 cup milk to make sauce. Continue cooking on low heat 3 minutes with ¼ cup coarsely chopped mushrooms. Add scallops for additional 2 minutes.

4)    Remove from the burner and stir in 2 tablespoons grated Gruyére or Swiss cheese.

5)    Fill 4-6 buttered small ramekins or shells with the scallop mixture. Dot with another tablespoon of butter and sprinkle lightly with 2 tablespoons bread crumbs.

6)    Broil until top is browned and serve hot.

Scallop flavor blends amazingly well with Oriental flavors using a brief salty and tart marinade. The operative word here is brief, as in 5 minutes, or the scallops will start to fall apart on longer exposure to this mixture.

                   Citrus, Soy and Ginger Scallops.

This recipe is excellent served over Soba noodles, so cook Soba noodles for 8 minutes in unsalted water, drain and set aside before starting on the scallops

1)    Spread 1 lb, bay scallops in a large plate on a paper towel and allow to air dry for 10 minutes.

2)    In a shallow bowl combine: 2 tablespoons each soy sauce, Mirin (Japanese rice wine), lemon and lime juice and ½ teaspoon sugar. Grate 1 inch piece of ginger and stir in the marinade.

3)    Spread the scallops in the marinade, toss to coat and after 5 minutes remove to another plate.

4)    Swirl 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil in a hot pan and fry the scallops spread out on the pan for 2 minutes on a side. Remove the scallops to a plate.

5)    Turn the heat to medium, add the rest of the marinade, 1 teaspoon small capers and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil scraping any on the brown bits from the pan. Cook for 1 minute, drizzle a tablespoon of the sauce over the scallops and toss the rest of the sauce with the Soba noodles.

6)    Serve noodles in shallow bowls with the scallops on top and a light sprinkle of scallion greens.

We are all doing more home cooking these days and it is fun to experiment with these plump delightful mollusks and discover different flavor combinations.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)