A preview of summer seafood

It’s still spring according to both the calendar and to my itchy eyes and nose — but temperatures rose above ninety degrees in New England, and I’m craving the sort of meal you’d eat while sitting outdoors on metal furniture as the smells of a bistro grace the heavy summer air.

The kind of meal I’d enjoy with a glass of Pinot Grigio, or maybe an Alsatian Pinot Gris if I wanted something a little different — if only I weren’t pregnant all summer. This meal begged for wine, but I made do with some peach apple mango juice. It’s going to be a long summer.

Short little cylinders, that’s the shape that scallops are. (Photo: Jules on Flickr, CC-BY)

I’m also trying to get a little more seafood in my diet (see last sentence). I love seafood, but I am sad to say that there’s a fish-shaped gap in my culinary knowledge. Sometimes it’s crustacean shaped, or in this case mollusk-shaped. Which is hardly a shape at all.

When I was a kid we usually had a bag of pre-cooked baby shrimp in the freezer. Put those lil suckers in a bowl of water for ten minutes, then throw them on anything and you’re set! They were mild flavored and had an unassuming texture, so they made a good compliment to salads and soups.

I couldn’t find those little pink morsels on my last trip to the grocery store, so I decided to check out the bay scallops. They’re smaller, and they’re new-to-me. They aren’t precooked but I think I’ve at least graduated from the cooking skills I had back when I was a shrimp-gobbling preteen.

I should also note that the bay scallops were cheaper than regular scallops, but further research shows that there’s probably a good, gross reason for that. They’re in my freezer now, so I’m going to finish off this bag while I’m still in denial. But next time I think I’ll do a little more research.

This is a pretty basic dish, and I just threw it together and kept track of it. It turned out well, so I’m posting it here!

Bay scallops with cheesy pasta

(serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup bay scallops (thawed — this only takes about 20 minutes in a bowl of cold water)
• flour, salt and pepper for dredging
• 4 oz dry pasta of choice

For the sauce:

• 4 oz mushrooms, washed and sliced
• 1/4 c grated parm (or another hard cheese)
• 1/2 c grated mozzarella (or another semisoft cheese)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt, black pepper, red pepper, and garlic powder to taste

1. Set the water to boil, and throw some pasta in there once it gets rolling. Give it a stir so it doesn’t stick together.
2. Heat butter in a pan on medium high heat.
3. Mix flour with a pinch of salt and pepper. Rinse scallops, pat dry and dredge in flour.
4. Add mushrooms and scallops to butter, sauté for about 3 minutes or until scallops turn white. Don’t overcook them!
5. Turn the heat down low*, add spices and a squirt of lemon juice.
6. Add cheeses and stir till melted. As soon as the cheese is melted, add to pasta and serve it up.

*If you’re using a pan that retains heat, you might even turn the heat off at this point! I used enameled cast iron, so that’s what I did.

We had this with some salad greens on the side, and it made for a nice simple summer meal. I can’t wait to try it with different cheeses and accompaniments. Like maybe a version with gruyere and bacon, or gorgonzola with zucchini and pine nuts. Fontina and dried tomatoes. Stop me, please.