Cumin-Crusted Scallops over Pepperjack Polenta with Roasted Vegetables

Cuisine: Southwestern

Inspiration: Whenever I’m out eating somewhere, I always take note of things that I love. At a restaurant here in town a few months back, I ordered scallops that were coated in cumin and blackened, and I really enjoyed them. While in Austria, one of my dishes came with a side of tiny cubes of roasted zucchini and peppers, and B and I both thought that the vegetables tasted amazing. One of my favorite new ways to cook is to store up little odds and ends that I enjoy from other places, and then throw them into my own meals at home.

What we Loved: I thought that the flavors and textures of this dish all combined really well. I loved the mixture of the creamy, pepperjack polenta with the crispy roasted flavor of the vegetables and the soft cumin scallops. The vegetables added a surprising amount of flavor to the meal, which I was really happy about. All together, this meal was really great for a healthy summer evening.

Helpful Hints: I always think that the most important thing about cooking scallops is to make sure that you don’t overcook them. If they’re overcooked, they end up getting really stiff and rubbery, and to me, it ruins the meal. When searing the scallops for this dish, they only need about 2 minutes per side. My biggest piece of advice is to take the scallops off of the heat just when you’re starting to question if they’re done yet. They will be!

Other Scallop Recipes: prosciutto-wrapped scallops

Cumin-Crusted Scallops over Pepperjack Polenta with Roasted Vegetables
Source: Original Recipe

For the scallops
8 sea scallops
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Kosher salt and black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

For the polenta
1 cup polenta
3 cups water
2-3 oz cubed pepperjack cheese

For the Vegetables
1 small zucchini, finely diced
1 red pepper, finely diced
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the zucchini and red pepper on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat, spreading the vegetables in an even layer. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until browned, flipping the vegetables a few times for even cooking.

2. Meanwhile, add the water to a medium saucepan, and bring it to a boil. Slowly pour in the polenta, stirring to prevent clumping. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for approximately 20-25 minutes, stirring and scraping the sides of the pan often. When the polenta is done, add the pepperjack cheese, stir to combine, and reduce the heat to the lowest setting to keep warm until serving.

3. Mix together the flour, cumin, chili powder, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Dip each side of the scallops into the mixture. Heat a stainless steel saute pan over medium heat. When hot, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Wait until the oil starts to smoke, then add the scallops. To allow the crust to form, do not move the scallops once you’ve placed them in the pan. Using a pair of kitchen tongs, flip the scallops after approximately 2 minutes. The scallops should release from the pan when they are ready to be flipped. Cook for an additional 2 minutes on the other side.

4. Serve the vegetables and the scallops atop the polenta.

Seafood Lasagna

Cuisine: Italian

Inspiration: I found this recipe on Confections of a Foodie Bride about a month ago, and it’s one of those recipes that has stuck in the back of my head ever since. I’ve been craving and making a lot of seafood lately, and a seafood lasagna using shrimp, crab, and scallops, which are my three favorite seafood variations, sounded so delicious to me. B’s mom came up for a night over the weekend, so I thought that it was the perfect excuse to make this fancy supper, along with some appetizers and a caprese salad.

What we Loved: The seafood flavor in this meal is incredible. If you don’t like seafood, you definitely wouldn’t like this dish, because the flavor is very pronounced. We love seafood, though, so we thought that it was perfect. I loved that the recipe used a lot of Parmesan, because it gave the cheesy portions of the meal a really sharp flavor, and I also loved that there wasn’t a tremendous amount of sauce in the final product. There are four cups of bechamel sauce added to the lasagna, but when you cut the cooked lasagna and serve it, it’s not very saucy and it cuts into pretty portions. The top of the lasagna also gets nice and crispy brown in the oven, which added a great, browned cheese flavor. Really, I loved everything about this recipe. It was delicious.

Helpful Hints: This dish can easily be made ahead of time, which is one of the reasons that I thought it would be great for company. I made the lasagna in the afternoon, and then I just put it in the fridge until we were ready to make it in the evening. There’s nothing worse than being busy in the kitchen when people are over, so I’m always happy to find a good recipe that can be made beforehand. I bought the more-expensive lump crabmeat for this dish, but because there’s so much going on with all of the different flavors, I think that you could get away with buying the cheaper claw meat and it would be just fine.

Other Italian Recipes: Angel hair pasta with sundried tomatoes and goat cheese

Seafood Lasagna

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

I made a few alterations to the recipe (mostly to the seafood amounts), but I really didn’t change a whole lot. Here is the recipe as I made it.

Extra virgin olive oil
8 oz lump crabmeat
1/2 lb bay scallops
1 lb jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
6 tablespoons buter
6 tablespoons flour
4 cups milk
8 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated and divided
Kosher salt and ground white pepper
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
8 oz Mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2-3/4 lb lasagna noodles (I used no boil noodles)

1. Add the crabmeat to a large bowl. Heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a pan. Place the scallops into the pan, and cook  for 2-3 minutes or until just cooked through. Pour the scallops into the bowl with the crabmeat. Add the shrimp to the pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes or until just cooked through. Add the shrimp to the bowl, season with salt and pepper, and mix.

2. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk 1 cup at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. When all the milk is added, cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until the sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally so that the mixture doesn’t scorch. Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Mix the spinach, 1/2 cup Parmesan, ricotta, egg, all of the mozzarella, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of the prepared white sauce in a large bowl.

4. Spread 1 cup of the white sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Arrange a layer of lasagna noodles in the pan, and spread with half of the ricotta mixture. Top with 1/2 cup white sauce.

5. Arrange a second layer of lasagna noodles in the pan. Add all of the seafood mixture, spreading to distribute evenly. Sprinkle half of the remaining Parmesan cheese over the seafood, and top with 1/2 cup white sauce.

6. Arrange a third layer of lasagna noodles in the pan. Spread with the remaining ricotta mixture, and top with 1/2 cup white sauce.

7. Arrange a final layer of lasagna noodles in the pan. Top with the remaining white sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.

8. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until brown and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes before cutting.

Corn Fritters with Bay Scallops and Avocado

I love fritters, so I’m always looking for new fritter recipes to try. So far I’ve tried white bean, zucchini, and now these corn fritters. These had a nice Mexican flavor with the cilantro, coriander, and cumin mixed into the fritters and with the mashed avocado on top. I served these with some bay scallops marinated in lime and garlic, and I topped everything off with some black pepper and finely shredded Parmesan. This was a light and healthy meal, and all of the flavors went so well together. I think that this meal would be perfect in the summer time, with a glass of lemonade or a margarita.

Corn Fritters with Scallops and Avocado
Source: The corn fritters were adapted from Simply Recipes. The meal idea came from Getting Fresh with Jenn

Fritters
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 egg
1/2 cup water
2 cups corn kernels
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chihuahua cheese (or you could use mozzarella, cheddar…)
Extra virgin olive oil

Avocado Mixture
1 avocado
1 small clove of garlic, minced
A pinch of kosher salt
A squeeze of lime juice

Scallops
20-30 bay scallops
1 large clove of garlic, minced
Juice from 1/2 lime
Extra virgin olive oil

Toppings
Black pepper
Finely shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Place the scallops in a dish and add a drizzle of olive oil, the juice from half of a lime, and 1 clove of minced garlic. Marinate for 30 minutes.

2. Mash the avocado. Add 1 clove of minced garlic, a pinch of kosher salt, and a squeeze of lime juice. Cover and refrigerate.

3. Combine the flour, salt, coriander, and cumin in a large bowl. Add the egg and water, and mix until no lumps remain. Mix in the corn, onion, cilantro, and cheese until all of the ingredients are just combined.

4. Pour a drizzle of olive oil into a skillet or griddle and heat over medium heat. Drop the fritter batter into the pan, approximately 2 tablespoons in size for each fritter. Allow to brown for 3-4 minutes, and then flip to brown on the other side. Drain the cooked fritters on a plate lined with paper towels as you cook the remaining fritters. You will need to add more olive oil to the pan between batches.

5. When the fritters are almost finished, heat a second pan over medium heat and add the scallops. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

6. Serve the fritters topped with the avocado mixture and the scallops. Season with pepper and finely shredded Parmesan cheese.

Bay Scallops with Avocado Puree and Jalapeno Pesto

This is a Bobby Flay recipe for a grilled appetizer that I made into a main course. What was interesting to me about the recipe was that there were two sauces….a really tart and smooth avocado sauce and a spicy pesto sauce. I was going to coat the bay scallops in a paprika/cumin spice mixture, too, but I thought that it might be overkill with all of the flavors, so I simply sauteed them up really quickly with a bit of black pepper. This is the second time that I’ve made this recipe…the first time, I used a seafood mixture of scallops, shrimp, and calamari, and that was just as good. The sauces are definitely what make the dish, though…they’re very unique, and they compliment each other really, really well. I love the green!

Bay Scallops with Avocado Puree and Jalapeno Pesto
Source: Adapted from Bobby Flay

I made a lot of changes to this recipe. Here’s the recipe as I made it.

Approximately 30 small bay scallops (This amount serves two. The sauce recipes make enough sauce to serve more, so you could up the amount of scallops for more people)
Extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper
Avocado puree (recipe follows)
Jalapeno pesto (recipe follows)

1. Heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a pan. Sprinkle the scallops with black pepper, and saute until they are cooked through. This should only take approximately 2 minutes.

2. Spread some of the avocado puree on a plate, top with the sauteed scallops, and then top the scallops with some of the pesto sauce. Serve immediately.

Avocado Puree

1 avocado, peeled and pitted
3 tablespoons chopped onion
2 small limes, juiced (this is about 1/4 cup of lime juice, and it results in a very tart sauce. Use less if desired.)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor, and process until smooth.

Jalapeno Pesto

1 cup cilantro leaves
2 jalapenos, seeded and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons pine nuts
A pinch of salt
A pinch of black pepper
1/8 – 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Combine the cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, pine nuts, salt, and pepper in a food processor, and process until coarsely chopped.  Slowly add the oil, using as much as you need to make a smooth sauce.

Seared Scallops

I think that searing scallops is my favorite way to eat them. The simplicity of the olive oil, salt, and pepper is delicious, and it really lets you taste the slightly sweet flavor of the scallops, which doesn’t always happen if they are covered in sauces, etc. Now, if only I could figure out how to do this properly. I’m getting better at it, but I really want a scallop that’s coated entirely on both sides with a crispy, brown crust. I always seem to juggle wanting to cook the scallops longer, to allow the crust to form, with knowing that I need to take them out of the pan so they don’t overcook (which always wins). Once I figure out just the perfect temperature for my pan, so they sear super quickly but I don’t burn down the kitchen, I think I’ll be all set. Either way, these scallops are really good…a little bit crispy, a little salty, a little sweet.

Seared Scallops
Source: Original Recipe

Okay, this isn’t really a recipe at all. More like how I’m learning to sear scallops.

8-10 jumbo scallops
Extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Heat a stainless steel pan over high heat (just how high? Still working on it. Higher!). When the pan is hot, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.

2. Pat your scallops dry with paper towels. You want them as dry as possible so they stick to the pan and create a sear. Salt and pepper the scallops immediately before placing them in the pan. Salt will draw out water from the scallops, so you want to do this right before you cook them.

3. When the oil is hot, add the scallops to the pan. Once you’ve placed them in the pan, don’t move them. They need to stay put or the sear won’t form. When you can see the brown on the bottom of the scallops and when they start to release themselves from the pan, flip them over. You should only have to cook for approximately 1-2 minutes per side. Don’t overcook, or the scallops will become tough inside.

4. Serve immediately after both sides have been browned. I served the scallops atop a bed of spinach.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Scallops

So I’ve decided that this may not be the most photogenic meal. Regardless, I love scallops, and this is one of my favorite ways to eat them. The scallops are tossed in a sauce made from sundried tomatoes, black olives, and basil, and then they’re wrapped in prosciutto. Baked in the oven, they’re nice and tender with a bit of saltiness from the prosciutto and a lot of olive-oily goodness from the sauce.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Scallops
Source: Giada De Laurentiis

Making this recipe, I only use a drizzle of olive oil in the sauce rather than the 1/4 cup called for. Since this leaves the sauce thicker than it should be, it doesn’t stick as well to the scallops, so I pat the leftover sauce atop each scallop.  This way, you still get all of the flavor from the sauce, without so much oil.  I also omit the salt called for in the recipe, because prosciutto is plenty salty on its own. Actually, I reduce the amount of prosciutto for this reason as well. Here’s the recipe as I make it.

1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
2 tablespooons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablesppons chopped black olives
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (I used the oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes)
8 medium scallops
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 slices prosciutto, each sliced in half

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. In a food processor, add the tomatoes, basil, olives and olive oil and process until finely chopped.

3. Season both sides of the scallops with pepper. Rub each scallop with the sauce mixture. Wrap each scallop in a half slice of prosciutto. Place the wrapped scallops in a greased baking dish, and top with the leftover sauce mixture.

4. Bake until the scallops are cooked through, about 15 minutes.