Scallop-ed Edges

I’m a shellfish freak. We’ve seen evidence to that love from an earlier post…er… Love Haiku to Softshell Crab here on this blog.

One of the most underrated and underused mollusks is the Scallop. Whether you pronounce it with the New England “skahhlop” (rhymes with ‘Fall) or the New York long-a’d “skaalop” (rhymes with ‘Al’), I strongly recommend you indulge in what I like to call Nature’s Candy.

Scallops come in two basic varieties: Sea Scallop are the larger variety which can get up to 8” in diameter and when shelled can resemble a marshmallow like you’d use for S’mores. They’re sweet, tender and very mild in flavor. Bay Scallops are the smaller version, about half the size of a Sea Scallop, more in line with a mini-marshmallow. In my opinion, the Bay Scallops, which can be hard to find fresh, are worth the hunt. These little nuggets can add the perfect balance of texture, sweetness and delicate flavor to any dish or simply be a star on their own.

Yesterday, I was perusing the fish counter at my local Fairway Market trying to decide what to make for dinner. I skim the beautiful Wild Salmon, Swordfish Steaks and crab legs but nothing was floating my boat… until I saw the Bay Scallops. At $9.99/lb, I found a winner.

Since I was just cooking for myself, I asked for a quarter to a third of a pound (Side note: When ordering anything from a counter, please be kind to the person working – saying “4oz” will drive them crazy. They only know the weight based on the scale in front of them. 0.25 is a quarter pound – 4oz might possibly make them sneeze on your food. Also, if you ask for a third of a pound and it comes out 0.37lb, don’t freak out. While they may have developed a good feel for how much something weighs, they’re not magicians. I’ll save more of this rant for another day). When the scale said 0.27, I said “perfect!” Quick calculations showed that I just paid about $2.70 for an amazing treat. Once again, who says good food has to be expensive??

Already with a few lemons in my cart, and thinking about what I had in the house, I was already formulating a plan of attack for dinner…

 

Lemony Angel Hair Pasta with Bay Scallops

Serves 1 (can easily be doubled or more)

• A Quarter size bunch of Angel Hair pasta, reserving ¼ cup of pasta water
• ½ cup all purpose flour
• ½ cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
• ¼ lb Bay Scallops, rinsed with cold water
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 Tbs butter
• 2 Tbs olive oil, divided

- Put a pot of water on the stove to boil for the pasta.

- Meanwhile, place flour with a pinch each of salt and pepper in a plastic zippered baggie and add the scallops. Close the baggie and gently shake the bag, coating the scallops.

- In a large non-stick skillet heat 1 Tbs oil over medium heat and add breadcrumbs, tossing until lightly toasted. Transfer to a plate.

- When the water has come to a boil add a generous pinch of salt and the pasta to the pot. The pasta I had took 3 minutes so I knew how much time I had to cook the scallops.

- Add remaining 1 Tbs oil and butter to the same pan that had the breadcrumbs and heat over medium heat. Add garlic and scallops – don’t be afraid if you see foam. That’s a combination of the butter and flour doing its work. Gently move the scallops around the pan, turning for about 30 seconds. Add lemon juice and wine and turn the heat down to medium-low. Season with salt and pepper. From the time you added the garlic and scallops, the whole dish should take about 3 minutes.

- Drain the pasta, reserving about ¼ cup of pasta water. Add drained pasta to the pain with the scallops and gently toss. Add some of the pasta water if the mixture becomes too thick.

- Transfer mixture to a large bowl or plate and top with toasted breadcrumbs.

I happened to have a flat-leaf parsley plant in my kitchen so at the last moment I snipped a few leaves and added them for a bit of freshness and color.

Remember, while I’m a huge fan of experimenting with seafood and mollusks, be sure you trust your supplier.

Enjoy!