Scallops and Shrimp with Pea Puree

Happy 2014! The new year seems a good reason to celebrate and perhaps splurge on seafood. This is the season for scallops, so they say. Last year I pretty much exclusively ate scallops wrapped in bacon, but because I seem to have given up the bacon in favor of the (more) luxurious pork belly, I got to experiment with searing the scallops instead. There is some technique to searing: you want a high heat and a fairly dry scallop. Mine went just fine with no fussing on my part, but perhaps it was beginners luck...?

This recipe is from Bon Appetit, and rather than use their pea puree recipe, which included parmesan cheese and a little butter, I used my previosly posted pea puree recipe. Mine (which is really Nigel Slater's) uses more mint and only butter (no cheese) - though I used ghee with positive results. I love this pea puree!

This dinner goes really fast: the peas cook in about 8 minutes and then only need to be pureed, and the seafood cooks in 5. Woah. Your only prep is to devein and peel the shrimp. I had not done this before, at least not the deveining. You need to just barely cut into the top of the shrimp "back" - there you will find one long thin line of a dark colored vein that you can just pull out. Here is a nice photo lesson in how to do the deveining (and peeling) process.

If you are really an expert, you could time the peas to finish cooking right after the seafood goes in the pan so that you can then puree them to keep optimum heat in the peas. I recruited My Charming Companion to watch over the seafood while I pureed so as not to mess up the searing. It was too much excitement for just me. But you could also make the pea puree early and keep it warm in the oven. Note that the recipe calls for grated lemon peel. I was without my fancy lemon grater, so chopped it up small for a not-quite-as-picturesque look.

Seared Shrimp and Scallops (by Bon Appetit, who says this serves 4, but come on people. 2 of us ate this very easily. It's seafood?!)
1 T olive oil
8 large sea scallops
8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1 T small fresh mint leaves (opt garnish)
Extra virgin olive oil (for drizzling)
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in heavy large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp and scallops with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook shrimp and scallops until golden brown outside and just opaque in center, about 2-3 minutes per side.Don't fuss with them and jsut let them sit still so as to nicely sear. Use a nice flat spatula to get under them, working "assuredly" so as to unstick each scallop in a nice swoop. The timid will lose the sear - so be courageous!

Plate your pea puree on two (warmed) plates. Set scallops and shrimp atop peas. Sprinkle with lemon peel, mint leaves, a little salt and pepper, and drizzle olive oil over the top of each plate. Serve!

Coconut Oyster Soup

I've been experimenting with less heavy cream in my life, mostly just to see if I have any adverse reactions to eating it (or full fat dairy). I have not been able to detect any - even after doing the pulse test to see if I had any internal inflammation from it (under the assumptions that any internal inflammation impacts health and wellness and disease and all that). I learned about the pulse test from a friend, but you can read Dr. Coca's book for free online - the pulse test is on page 17. He has all kinds of interesting things to say about allergens and disease or chronic pain. I actually did a simplified pulse test, where I took my pulse rate several times over the coarse of a day. I then ate some cream (I had not had any dairy for over a week) and tested my pulse. If it had risen more than 6 beats per minute, it would have indicated some kind of allergic reaction. It didn't - but it did raise some and I am curious to try some of the longer term pulse tests to gather more info.

Anyway - this soup recipe is modeled from one by Terry Wahls, the doctor who treated her MS by diet and had really dramatic results. It is a perfectly good soup - however, the recipe does not highlight the oysters. And if I am going to have oysters, I want them to be the center of attention! So, certainly go for this if you are wanting a dairy free soup, but I might try it with shrimp or fish instead. Incidentally, now is the time to be eating oysters - at least for a just a bit longer (scallops too) - they are in prime deliciousness. Perhaps a ceviche recipe?!

Coconut Oyster Soup
1 lb of shucked oysters
2 T coconut oil
1 1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups mushrooms
2-inch piece galangal, sliced in discs
3-inch piece lemongrass
2-3 cups fish broth, clam juice or chicken broth
1 can coconut milk
1 T fish sauce (Red Boat is the GF brand)
Salt to taste
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
2 basil leaves, minced
½ bunch of cilantro, minced

Heat coconut oil in a large pot. Add onions and garlic, and saute several minutes. Add mushrooms, galangal, lemongrass, broth, coconut milk and fish sauce and simmer 10 minutes. Salt to taste. Add oysters with any liquid and lemon juice and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, add cilantro and basil and serve.

Adding the lovely oysters!

Bacon wrapped Scallops with Swiss Chard

All the snow seems to have inspired a sense of indulgence for me this weekend (though really, I am always on the lookout for an opportunity for indulgence). In this case, it was about some more expensive food items (scallops, pork butt, and bacon), and also some nice outings and overall sense of leisure and expansive snowy weekend time.

I did some reading, snow-shoeing (thanks to some borrowed snow shoes that I am behind in returning), and went to a really lovely, very snowy film, Happy People by Werner Herzog. The film is a documentary about a small town in Siberia that is accessible only by helicopter or boat (only when the water is not iced over). The town's people are fairly cut off from modern invention - they use snow machines and chain saws, but most everything else they make. The craftsmanship is really amazing, and the images throughout the whole film are stunning (you see many of them in the preview linked above.) It is showing at the newly refurbished Uptown Theatre - which now has very spacious, leather seating and even a bar and sofas on the 2nd floor!?

The weekend started out Friday evening with a dinner of Bacon wrapped Scallops and some Swiss Chard. I love scallops, and the slightly tart greens were a nice complement to the sweetness of the scallops and bacon. After some trial and error, My Charming Companion and I determined that 5 large scallops each is a preferred amount. Ten scallops came out to about 8/10 of a pound, so you can figure accordingly how many scallops you might prefer (remember there is a lot of bacon involved too!)

See upper right scallops for how NOT to wrap bacon!

Scallops
10 large wild scallops
10 slices of bacon (you will trim off part of each slice, which makes leftovers for breakfast!)
fresh lemon
10 toothpicks

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wrap each scallop in the bacon, making sure to overlap the bacon just enough to secure with a toothpick. Trim off excess bacon (optional) and save for tomorrow's breakfast. Place scallops in a cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until bacon is crispy. While scallops are cooking, make chard recipe below.

Swiss Chard
1 large bunch swiss chard
1/2 onion, sliced thin
2 T ghee, butter, coconut oil, or bacon fat
splash vinegar (I used champagne vinegar, but apple cider would be good too)
salt to taste

Heat fat in a large skillet. Add onions and saute for a few minutes. Trim chard leaves chard from the ribs, and chop the ribs in small pieces. Add chopped chard ribs to onion and saute for another 5+ minutes, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent. Add chopped chard greens and saute for another 10 minutes. Season with a splash of vinegar and salt to taste.

Serve scallops over or alongside chard.

AND THEN....don't abandon the really delicious bacon fat and scallop juice from the pan! It is delicious the next morning with scrambled eggs. They taste scallop-y and soft and amazing and I could not wait to make breakfast.

Just stick the juice filled pan in the fridge overnight. In the morning, stick the pan in the oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes to heat up. Stir up some eggs with a bit of salt, and then pour them into the heated cake pan. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or so, stirring every few minutes. I chopped a bunch of parsley to add in to the eggs, and made a saute of onions and peppers with the leftover bacon ends to go with. Yum!

Oyster Stew!

This recipe is so simple, and so incredibly delicious. Really, how can you go wrong with oysters, butter, and cream - which comprise the bulk of this recipe. The original recipe (from an internet search seeking something flour-free) was modified just a bit - primarily by trading half and half for chicken stock and heavy cream. The oysters I got were huge, and this soup was pretty much to. die. for. Swoon.

Oyster Stew serves 4 and takes about 20 minutes total!
1 stick of butter
1 c minced celery
1/4 c minced shallots (onions worked great for me, I added a bit extra)
1 pint chicken stock
1 pint heavy cream (I ended up not using all of it - a little less was plenty)
24 oz or 1 1/2 lbs fresh, shucked oysters with the juice
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in a large heavy pot. Add onions/shallots and celery, and cook until onions are tender (about 5 minutes).
2. Add broth to pot and let heat a minute or two over medium high heat. Add cream and stir continuously to heat. Just before boiling (you will see lots of little bubbles start to rise), pour the oysters and their liquid into the pot. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Stir continuously until the "oysters curl at the ends." My Charming Companion and I determined this to be after just a few minutes or so, maybe 4. When the ends are "curled" the stew is done and you can turn off the heat. Taste the soup to check your salt and pepper, adjust if needed.
3. Serve immediately! You could garnish with parsley if you had some.
*This was also very tasty when I reheated leftovers the following day. OMG. so good. It was also nice with the crackers from my previous post...you can break them up like oyster crackers!

Shrimp and Pesto Zucchini Pasta

I am obsessed with zucchini noodles.  My little julienne peeler is the best kitchen gadget I have purchased this year.  Besides a giant crock pot I guess:) I am constantly dreaming up ways to use my peeler to make fun vegetable dishes.  Ever since basil harvesting time I have been making an easy pesto sauce and adding it to my veggie noodles.  If you make a batch of pesto ahead of time and either freeze it or store it in the refrigerator, this is a fast and easy dinner option.  Today I decided to add a few shrimp to the dish, but I have used chicken before, which was also good.

I think the green color of the noodles and the pesto really compliment each other.  The little pink shrimp are a yummy and visually appealing addition to the dish.  After all, we eat with ours eyes first.

Pesto Ingredients
fresh basil leaves
pine nuts
olive oil
sea salt

Honestly,  I eyeball the ingredients. Add however much you like.  I like to roast the pine nuts on the stovetop for a few minutes to get their oils going and bring out the flavor.  Add the basil, pine nuts, and salt to the food processor.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil as it is mixing.  I use Megan's earlier advice about picking an olive oil.  Try not to use extra virgin olive oil, it has a strong flavor that over powers the rest of the ingredients.  I use light olive oil instead.

Pasta Time!

Thaw the shrimp.  Cook them over medium heat in a little olive oil until tender.  While the shrimp are cooking, cut your zucchini noodles.  Once the shrimp are cooked remove them from the pan and add the noodles to the sauté pan with some olive oil.  Then, add a couple tablespoons of the pesto.  Cook a couple minutes until the noodles start to get tender.  Add the shrimp back in for the last minute of cooking time.


Bon Appétit!

Jambalaya (paleo)

I just read/skimmed Robb Wolf's "The Paleo Solution" - and at the end of the book there are recipes and ideas about what to eat for a "Paleo 30" (30 days of paleo eating to notice how your health/energy/etc change and decide if you want to continue or not). And while perusing the recipes I saw one for jambalaya, which sounded new and exciting.

Usually people use andouille sausage for jambalaya - along with shrimp. I had some homemade linguica defrosting, which is much milder, and maybe a little more wine-y.  They also had only farm raised shrimp at the store, so I opted to go with bay scallops instead (the small, cheaper kind).  The resulting dish was definitely jambalaya like - though honestly I have little to compare this to since I have never eaten traditional jambalaya. The only other time I've had it was when I made enormous quantities for a fundraiser my friend and I put together in college. Anyway - the paleo version does not have the rice of course, and instead uses cauliflower. The consistency is different that way - the cauliflower just doesn't soak up the liquid like rice does - but the whole thing comes together nicely as a soup.

Mine looked a little thicker than this - with scallops, not shrimp!

1 T + 1 t olive oil, divided
1/2 pound spicy sausage (andouille)
1 c. chopped onion
3/4 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 t. cajun seasoning* + 1/8 t., divided
1 bay leaf
2 small cans tomato sauce**
2 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. water
1 1/2 c. finely chopped cauliflower
dash of cayenne
1/2 pound shrimp

Cajun "holy trinity"

In a large skillet heat the olive oil, sausage, onion, peppers and celery. (I read somewhere that the combo of onion, green pepper and celery is the "holy trinity" in Cajun cooking.) Saute for about 5 minutes, then add the seasoning and bay leaf. Cook for 1 more minute. Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, water, and cauliflower. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

In another skillet, saute the shrimp (or scallops) in the 1/8 t. olive oil with the 1/8 t. cajun spice and a dash of cayenne. Saute for 2 minutes and then stir into the jambalaya. 

*Make your own Cajun spice by using 2 parts each of salt and paprika to 1 part each of cayenne and black pepper (and if you like, onion and garlic flakes). This was especially tasty to brown the scallops in.
**I have no idea how much this is. I had tomatoes and tomato paste to use up, so I used that instead. ?

Perfectly Roasted Asparagus

Spring = asparagus! Almost. And I recently discovered this easy way to make perfectly roasted asparagus spears. Why oh why did I ever saute them? This is so much better!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prep asparagus by washing it and breaking off the ends. Do you know the fancy trick to break off exactly the tough part? Hold onto the very bottom of the asparagus spear with one hand, and bend the spear towards itself with the other. It will snap at the place where the spear stops being tough and starts being tender. Lay the spears on a baking sheet, and drizzle with olive oil. Turn the spears a few times to make sure they are well coated.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. When they come out, squeeze a little lemon juice on top, and sprinkle with (smoky) salt. *They are pictured below with bacon wrapped scallops, aka extravagant stay-cation eating indulgence that maybe will become my fave thing to eat ever.

Sea Scallops!

I decided to take some days off this week in honor of my birthday. A five-day weekend seemed like a really good present to myself! I also seem to be treating myself to all kind of delicious food items, including some sea scallops (which I have been salivating over for the past few weeks). They are not cheap, running about $24/pound at Seward, but they were going to be my "start of vacation" dinner, so I bought 4 of them (1/3 of a pound) and made them for dinner.

I vaguely followed the recipe linked here, but changed it a bit to include what I had on hand. Oh this was so good! The sweetness of the scallop with the salty bacon and greens was perfect. I'll multiply the amounts so that the recipe below will serve two generous portions (I could have eaten 1/2 a pound of scallops, they are so good).

1 pound sea scallops
1/4 pound bacon, chopped
1 bunch of kale, chopped
1 onion, chopped
Fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

Chop bacon and saute in a large skillet for 5 minutes. Add onions and continue to saute until onions are translucent and bacon is crispy. Set bacon/onions aside, but reserve the bacon fat for cooking the shallots (you'll use the same pan).

While onion is cooking, start the kale steaming in a covered pot with an inch or two of water or broth at the bottom (I used broth because I had some, and it added really nice flavor).

Add the shallots to the pan with bacon fat, and cook on both sides for about 5 minutes each.

While they are cooking, pour out any extra water from the kale, then add the bacon/onion mix. Saute together for a few minutes and salt and pepper to taste, and squeeze fresh lemon (maybe a Tablespoon or so).

Serve scallops on top of greens. Yum!

Bohemian Cucumber Soup with Shrimp

I've avoided eating shrimp for awhile due to some idea in my head that sustainably caught shrimp is hard to come by. This soup recipe (featuring about-to-be-abundant-cucumbers) got me curious though, so I did a little more research to find out the real deal. I found Seafood Watch (referred by Michael Pollen), an AMAZING resource about all kinds of seafood farming and fishing practices, mercury levels, and a sustainability rating system. (Check out the trout page for interesting Great Lakes info.) As it turns out, the Seward carries uncooked shrimp farmed in Thailand, which is rated in the "good alternative" category, as is their larger, wild-caught shrimp from Mexico. Maybe Coastal has something rated "Best Choice" - which is SeafoodWatch's top rating...

This chilled soup recipe comes from the Schumacher cookbook which features all kinds of Central European dishes. The recipe is easy to make, fast-ish, and really nice for the hot weather. I also think the shrimp could be easily and tastily replaced by tofu (lightly flavored and baked or fried, then chilled). I do think it would be best as a starter course to another dish...some other Bohemian something or other, perhaps. In my case it went with some sliced up beets from the garden and brats. All were consumed in the appetite-facilitating, air-conditioned bedroom (as opposed to the 91 degree rest-of-the-house, which seems to suppress my hunger)!

Serves 4-8 depending on serving size.
1 large cucumber (4 oz)
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 pints buttermilk
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 c plain yogurt
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 T plus 2 t dill pickle juice
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t dry mustard
1/4 t salt
pinch white pepper
1 T fennel seed
1 T chopped fresh dill
6 oz cooked popcorn shrimp*
1 t fresh lemon juice
2 hard boiled eggs
2 T green chopped onions
*I used the bigger shrimp and cut it into small pieces.

1. Make your hard-boiled eggs.
2. Cook the shrimp by placing them in a saucepan with 2/3 c cold water and lemon juice; bring to a fast boil. Remove from heat and set in fridge to cool (keeping liquid).
3. Peel and split the cuke lengthwise; scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Dice the cucumber, sprinkle with salt, and set in a strainer to sweat/drain for 30 minutes. (I was too impatient and did not wait this long!)
4. In a blender or food processor, mix 1/2 pint buttermilk, Worcestershire, yogurt, garlic, pickle juice, drained cucumber, nutmeg, mustard, salt and pepper, and blend for one minute. Pour into a bowl, add dill, fennel, and remaining buttermilk, and refrigerate.
5. When everything is cool enough for your liking, mix the shrimp and liquid with the buttermilk base. Serve with chopped eggs and green onions for garnish.
*Schumacher notes that this soup takes some moderate care and only keeps for about 48 hours. So eat up.