Scallops and Chard

Those who know me are well aware that I am New Englander, through and through. My palate is evidence enough of that. My father loves to tell people the story of when, at three years of age, I requested lobster for lunch at a carnival instead of a hot dog or hamburger. And my love of shellfish and many other New England staples only seems to grow with time. So, joining a CSA and trying to eat more locally (and get more creative with recipes) has been a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, I don't cook often because my husband is not home much but he was in between projects and I had him for 2 weeks straight! Needless to say, the pots and pans got a lot of use! And he shares my love of shellfish so pretty much any recipe I attempt in that area is gobbled right up.

Last weekend, I tried a scallop recipe that was somewhat created in my mind and somewhat ripped off of various internet sources. My culinary skills are still in their infancy so I almost always look to other recipes for guidance. We had picked up a pound of scallops at the farmer's market and for some reason, I really wanted to eat them with sauteed spinach. I figured I could sub in some CSA chard for the spinach and it would be just as good. Here's what I did:

Marinate 1 lb. scallops in dressing - I chose Drew's Soy Ginger dressing. Added crushed red pepper for some heat. Let it marinate for at least one hour in the fridge.

Saute +8 torn chard leaves (or another green, if you like) in olive oil, salt, garlic and more crushed red pepper.

Saute scallops (I used a separate pan but you could probably use the same one as the greens) until cooked through.

Toss greens and scallops together over heat to let flavors come together, salt to taste and serve!

We will definitely be making this again as we never seem to tire of seafood. It's just the New England in me!

-Nicole

Shrimp Egg Rolls and Scallops over Wilted Tatsoi

Shrimp Egg Rolls

Ingredients:

1 lb precooked shrimp, coarsely chopped
1/2 head Chinese cabbage, stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped (I probably should have used a whole head, especially since I have no idea what to do with the other half a head)
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup diced water chestnuts
1 radish, cut into small papersticks (probably could have used 2 radishes...I wasn't sure how it would go but threw it in since I had it)
6 ounces baby bella mushrooms, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
Splash rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons oyster sauce
Egg Roll wrappers (I used 12 egg roll wrappers...your mileage may vary depending on how stuffed you make your egg rolls)
Vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

Heat the sesame and olive oils in a large skillet over medium high heat (oil amounts are approximate). Saute garlic and mushrooms until slightly tender, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots, water chestnuts, and radish. Saute an additional 2 minutes. Add the Chinese cabbage, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Stir well until cabbage begins to wilt. Add the shrimp, stir well, then remove from the heat.

Once filling has cooled slightly, fill egg roll wrappers. If you don't know how to do that, no worries. The directions are on the package of egg roll wrappers.

Add about 1/4" oil to a skillet and heat over high heat until a wooden chopstick dipped into the oil causes bubbles to appear. Carefully add egg rolls (there will be spatters unless you're a far better egg roll roller than I am). Turn once the first side has browned. I find it best to use a spatula in one hand and a chopstick in the other to turn the egg rolls. When the other side has browned, remove to paper towel lined plate to drain.

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As if that wasn't enough, I also made:

Pan Seared Scallops over Wilted Tatsoi


The wilted tatsoi was really outstanding. I very loosely followed this recipe, except that I only used tatsoi rather than assorted Asian greens. Also, I only had seasoned rice vinegar (which they say specifically not to use), so I used it and omitted the sugar. I added some garlic, because, come on. How could you not use garlic in this? And I just eyeballed all the ingredient quantities since I wasn't using anywhere near the same quantity of greens. Anyway, it was delicious. I'm so glad we decided to try the tatsoi. We had a choice at our CSA of tatsoi or arugula, and I'm really happy we decide to go with the one we'd never heard of.

For the scallops I tried something a little different from my normal bread-and-fry-in-garlic-butter method I employ for most seafood. We had some lemon thyme that I didn't have any plans for, so I used that as my inspiration. I mean, it wasn't a big stretch to pair lemony flavors with seafood, but anyway :)

Ingredients:

1 lb sea scallops
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon thyme
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
zest from 1/2 lemon
Oil for frying

Directions:

Rinse scallops in cold water and remove that little tough piece on the side. I don't know what it's called (anyone want to help me out?) It peels right off, though. Gently pat excess water off with paper towel.

Toss scallops with thyme, lemon pepper, and lemon zest until all scallops are lightly coated.

Add enough oil to thinly coat the bottom of a skillet. Heat over high heat. Add scallops (don't overcrowd...do it in two batches if your pan is small). When the bottom of the scallop is lightly seared, turn over and cook the other side until it's seared. I'm hesitant to give cook times as it really depends on the size of your scallops, but it's quick...1 or 2 minutes per side approximately.