A year or so ago, I had a wild hair that it would be cool to take my favorite sushi rolls and created deconstructed versions of them to serve as an appetizer before an Asian-inspired dinner or as a refreshing nibble at a spring or summer party. The idea of the ingredients I usually find in my rolls piled up on a cucumber slice just sounded fun. And well, the variations on the theme are just endless, making it my kind of food idea. Even with all there was to recommend trying this idea out immediately, somehow it took me much longer to act on this idea than on most of my wild hairs. Recently, I finally rolled up my sleeves and tried my concept out, and a fun time was had by all in the kitchen and at the dining table.

As the picture shows, I experimented with two standard rolls: California and spicy tuna.

Roll Equations

The California roll is pretty straight forward: cucumber slice + rice + avocado + crab + sesame seeds. There’s not really any prep for any of the ingredients beyond mashing the avocado up a bit so it’s easier to keep on top of the rice. For the spicy roll I had to do two things:

• Make the tuna spicy – hence the tuna tartare recipe you’ll find later in this blog.
• Whip up a batch of spicy mayo to top it all off. My spicy mayo recipe is 4 parts mayo, 1 part sriracha, and a drizzle of honey or agave nectar.

With that prep work done, the spicy tuna roll = cucumber slice + rice + avocado + tuna tartare + spicy mayo + thin slice of green Thai pepper.

What about the Rice?

For both rolls, I cooked a cup of short grain sushi rice according to the package directions and then mixed the finished rice with a couple of tablespoons of seasoned rice wine vinegar. The rice needs to be cool before you can pile it on the cucumber slices, and the fast way to do this is to spread the seasoned rice on a sheet pan and stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. This also helps dry it out.

Useful Things to Know

As I was making my deconstructed rolls, I learned some things:

• Just like sushi rolls, deconstructed sushi rolls are messy and time-consuming. This is not a reason not to make them, just a fact to consider. If you plan to make them for a crowd, enlist help and/or give yourself plenty of time.
• Sushi rice sticks to everything. Keep your hands damp as you work.
• Small cookie cutters or molds make it easier to stack and pack ingredients, just be sure you dip them in water so the rice doesn’t stick.
• Buy big cucumbers to use as the base – I mean really big. Little English cukes just don’t work.
• If the rice wants to slide off of the cucumber base, use a tiny bit of prepared wasabi as glue.
• These rolls are best served pretty quickly after you make them. You could probably hold them in the fridge for maybe 30 minutes, but no more.

Recipe: Tuna Tartare

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
• Serves: 4-6 as an appetizer
• Prep Time: 15min
• Inactive Time: 30 min
• Weight Watchers™ Points: 3

Ingredients

• 8 oz. yellow fin tuna, sushi grade, cut into ¼ inch cubes
• 4 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 4 Tbsp. mirin
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
• 4 Tbsp. lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. prepared wasabi (plus more to taste)

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients.
2. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to 3.
3. Serve on deconstructed sushi rolls, with wonton skins, in shooter glasses, or any other fun way you can come up with.

Recipe for Success

• High quality, sushi grade tuna is a must for this recipe, not only for safety but for flavor. Be sure to source your tuna from a fish monger that you trust.
• Freeze the fish for 15 minutes or so to make it easier to cut into cubes.

Learn more about ahi tuna

A few weeks back I made a Striped Bass with Corn and Jumbo Lump Crab Sauté that was just lovely and a great way to eat more fish. Interestingly enough, the best part of the dish was the corn and crab sauté that forms the base of for the fish. It’s a great combination of crisp, bright, and rich flavors that’s just right for a warm evening. After that meal I had this idea that the sauté would be a great base for other types of seafood like scallops and shrimp, and with a few more veggies thrown in it could be a veritable smorgasbord of seafood and veggie goodness. As I contemplated modifying the original recipe I was further inspired by another favorite recipe, Shrimp Boil Hobo Packs, which incorporates sausage into the fray with seafood and corn. The end result is this new dish that showcases fresh seafood and vegetables in a quick and healthy dinner just perfect for al-fresco dining.

Recipe: Spring Seafood Sauté

Details

• Difficulty: Medium
• Serves: 2 (double to serve four)
• Prep Time: 30 min
• Cook Time: 15 min
• Weight Watchers™ Points: 9

Ingredients

• 4 large (U/10) scallops (about 6 oz.)
• 2 tsp. olive oil, divided
• 2.5 oz. light smoked sausage, thinly sliced
• 2 ears fresh corn cut from the cob
• ½ c. diced red onion
• 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 small zucchini squash, diced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 2 Tbsp. diced poblano pepper
• ½ c. white wine
• 4 oz. jumbo lump crab, picked through
• 2 Tbsp. minced chives
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves
• Zest of 1 lemon
• ¾ c. chicken stock
• 2 tsp. cold butter
• 12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Season both sides of the scallops and the shrimp with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a sauté pan over high heat and add 1 Tbsp. of olive oil to the pan. The pan should be very hot. Heat the oil until it smokes.
3. Add the scallops to the pan, reduce the heat to medium-high, and cook without moving for 2-3 minutes until caramelized. Flip the scallops and cook for another 1-3 minutes until slightly firm to the touch. Move the scallops to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
4. Add the sausage to the pan and cook over medium-high heat until lightly brown. Move the sausage to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
5. Add the corn, onion, shallots, zucchini, and red and poblano peppers to the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté for 1 – 2 minutes until the onion begins to soften.
6. Deglaze the pan with white wine and boil for 1 minute, scrapping the bottom of the pan to loosen the brown bits.
7. Add the crab meat, chives, thyme, and zest to the pan, stirring just to blend.
8. Add the chicken stock to the pan and stir to combine. Whisk in the butter. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.
9. Add the shrimp and reserved sausage to the pan and stir to combine.
10. Raise the heat back to high and boil until the broth reduces by half, the mixture is a sauce consistency, and the shrimp are cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Check for seasoning one last time and adjust as necessary.
11. To plate, arrange the seafood and vegetable mixture in a shallow bowl. Top with the reserved scallops.

Recipe for Success

• Take some extra time to cut the onion, zucchini, and peppers into a nice, even dice. Not only will they cook more evenly, the final presentation will be prettier.
• I haven’t tried this recipe with frozen corn but it will probably do if you can’t get fresh. The sauté will be a little less crunchy and it may take a little longer for the final sauce to reduce because of the extra water from the frozen corn.
• Be sure your pan and oil are smoking hot when you put the scallops in for the first sear. If the pan isn’t hot enough they will stick to the pan.

[Jump right to the recipe: Pepita-Crusted Trout with Citrus and Avocado Salsa]

Continuing with this year’s commitment to eat more fish in more interesting ways, I put together a crusted trout recipe that can easily work for any filet of fish. After much tasting research and further contemplating my own preferences, I’ve found that I like planning a salsa, relish, or other bright companion for my fish because it adds a separate, distinct layer of flavor that really balances out the fish. It also makes the whole dish prettier. Along those lines, this dish is quick to prepare and the salsa can be made with either fresh or canned ingredients, depending what you have on hand, so it’s perfect for a weeknight dinner or for serving at an impromptu dinner party.

Learn more about trout

Recipe: Pepita-Crusted Trout with Citrus and Avocado Salsa

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
• Serves: 4
• Prep Time: 20 min
• Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients

• 1 c. chopped grapefruit segments
• 1 c. chopped pineapple
• ½ small jalapeno, diced (or more if you want a really spicy salsa)
• 2/3 c. diced red onion
• 1 medium avocado, chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• ¼ c. chopped parsley
• 4 trout filets, 4 oz each, deboned with skin on
• ½ c. fresh-squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 c. white whole wheat flour
• 2 egg whites whisked with 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 c. prepared pepita crust (recipe follows this one)
• 4 Tbsp. grape seed oil
• 2 Tbsp. butter

Instructions

1. Add the first seven ingredients (grapefruit through parsley) into a medium bowl and toss gently to combine. Prepare up to 30 minutes before serving and leave in refrigerator for the flavors to meld.
2. Place the trout filets in a large zip top bag and add the orange juice, moving the filets around in the bag to be sure each is covered with juice. Marinade in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes and no more than 30 minutes.
3. While the fish marinades, prepare the breading stations. Spread the flour and pepita crust evenly on two large plates or in two pyrex dishes. Have a third empty plate or dish ready as well.
4. When the fish is done marinating, remove one filet from the bag and shake gently to remove any excess orange juice. Lay the filet skin-side down in the flour and press to coat evenly. Sprinkle the flesh side with salt and pepper and flip to coat evenly with the flour.
5. Place the flour-coated filet on the empty plate, skin-side down, and brush the flesh side with a thin, even layer of the egg white and water mixture.
6. Place the fillet flesh-side down into the pepita crust and press gently to coat evenly with the crust.
7. Reserve the crusted fish on a large cookie sheet and repeat the coating process with the other three filets until all are crusted.
8. Heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil and 1 Tbsp. of the butter over medium high heat in a large sauté pan until a small dusting of flour tossed into the pan sizzles (pan should be very hot and the butter will begin to brown). Place two filets crust-side down in the pan, being careful not to overlap, and sauté for two minutes without moving. Flip the filets to the skin side and cook for 2-3 minutes more until the fish is cooked through.
9. Move the cooked fish to a sheet pan and keep warm in a 200 degree oven.
10. Wipe the pan out and repeat with the remaining oil, butter, and fish filets.
11. To serve, place one filet on a plate and top with about ½ c. of the salsa.

Pepita Crust
My market pre-makes fish crust so I don’t have to make my own, but really, it’s a simple thing to do. If you don’t have access to pre-made crust at your local market, you can put your own together very quickly by combining equal parts roasted pepita seeds (or any other nut) and pre-made bread crumbs or panko. I like to use the pepitas whole because they provide a nice contrast to the finer texture of bread crumbs or panko, but if you like your crust a little more uniform in texture, give the pepitas a quick whirl in a mini-chopper to break the up a bit. You should be able to buy the pepitas already roasted and if you can find them, try those roasted with tamarind for a little extra flavor. Season the mixture with a little salt and pepper to finish. Make a bunch of this crust – it will keep for about 6 weeks in your pantry and it’s great for crusting chicken as well as fish, or for tossing with your favorite steamed vegetables.

Experiments in Fish Crust

Over the years I’ve experimented with different ways to crust something and have the crust 1) stay on and 2) not burn before that something is finished cooking. After some successes and failures with fish in particular, I’ve come to the conclusion that the standard three step breading technique is really the best way to create a crust that really sticks to the fish. The combination of flour and egg whites creates light but sticky “glue” for the crust and helps keep the crust intact while the fish is cooking. If you’re not familiar with this technique, it’s fairly easy but does get a couple of extra dishes dirty:

1. Season the fish with salt and pepper then dredge both sides in flour. In this recipe the fish is a skin-on trout filet so only the flesh side is actually crusted. Even so, the flour on the skin side helps the skin crisp and brown when it hits the pan.
2. Brush the flesh side of the filet with an egg white mixed with a bit of water. If you are crusting a piece of fish without skin, you brush all sides with the egg white and water mixture because you’ll want to coat all sides.
3. Press the flesh side of the filet into the crust and press down lightly to be sure all areas of the flesh are covered by the crust. If your fish doesn’t have skin, repeat this for all sides of the fish until the whole piece is covered.

To give plenty of room to work with the fish, I use three large plates or Pyrex dishes for each step of the process and work with one filet at a time. Big mounds of flour and crust in small dishes make it hard to coat the fish evenly, and it’s much easier to brush the fish with the egg white when it’s lying flat because you can use both hands – one to hold and one to brush. I reserve the crusted fish on a big cookie sheet without overlapping them until I’m done crusting all of the filets.

An even crust that sticks fairly well is only half of the battle. Some things that make cooking crusted fish easier are:

• Use a combination of grape seed oil and butter. The butter helps the fish brown nicely but the grape seed oil gives you a higher smoke point so you can cook the fish more rapidly.
• Cook on medium-high heat and be sure the oil/butter combination is hot when you start cooking. If the fat and the pan aren’t hot enough, the fish will taste greasy and the crust won’t crisp.
• Finish thick pieces of fish in a 400 degree oven. A filet like trout is thin enough that it will cook in 4-5 minutes without burning the crust. A thicker filet (more than ½ inch) will need more time to cook and the crust will burn before the fish is finished. Brown all sides of a thick filet in a pan and then transfer to a cookie sheet to finish in the oven for a few more minutes.
• Don’t crowd the pan. If the fish overlaps while browning you’ll have uneven browning and crust that sticks to other pieces of fish. Work in batches as necessary and keep the finished fish warm in a 200 degree oven. The fish cooks so quickly the first pieces won’t really have time to cool down.

This recipe is a riff on this Black Sea Bass with Corn and Jumbo Lump Crab Sauté from Food Network. The fish sits atop a bed of colorful, fresh vegetables that you cook just through so they keep their crispness. The crab gives the sauté a rich, decadent taste with absolutely no extra work on your part. All together, the combination of flavors is fun and in no way boring. Although the ingredient list is a little long (12 ingredients), the techniques involved are very straight forward. First you pan fry a fish and then you make a quick veggie and crab sauté to serve with it. None of these techniques is tricky even if you’ve been cooking for just a short while, so it’s a very safe recipe with beautiful results. It’s fast too. Chopping the veggies for the sauté is the most time-consuming part of the whole recipe.

My take on the recipe deviates from the original in four ways:

• I substituted striped bass for sea bass simply because striped bass is $10 per pound less expensive at my fishmonger right now. Until I’m really comfortable with any technique or ingredient I try not to splurge on the best I can buy. After making the dish I’m pretty sure you could substitute any fish you’d like and be happy with the results.
• I reworked the recipe proportions to be more practical for an at home meal for two. This recipe was created by restaurant chef at Doris and Ed’s Restaurant so it makes a huge single portion. I wanted something sized for a weeknight at home that would be filling but not overly so.
• I reduced the fat. One of the points of eating fish and vegetables is to be healthy and the original recipe had more fat than I really wanted. I used less of both olive oil and butter and the dish turned out just fine.
• I left out the potatoes. The original recipe recommends serving this dish with roasted fingerling potatoes. I did that and for whatever reason they just didn’t compliment the dish as much as I thought they would. Because the vegetable sauté includes corn and peppers it provides both veggies and carbs, so I’d stick to serving this as a meal by itself. Besides, when your main is this healthy, you can have dessert too.

I’m pleased with the outcome of the dish and my modifications to it. It was so great to look at when I first made it that I couldn’t wait to try it, and thus forgot to snap a picture. I’ll be sure to do it next time I make the recipe.

Learn morea bout striped bass

Recipe: Striped Bass with Corn and Jumbo Lump Crab

Details

• Difficulty: Medium
• Serves: 2 (double to serve four)
• Prep Time: 30 min
• Cook Time: 15 min
• Weight Watchers ™ Points: 11*

Ingredients

• 2 5oz. striped bass filets, skin on
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 2 ears fresh corn cut from the cob
• ½ c. diced red onion
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 1 Tbsp. diced poblano pepper
• 4 oz. jumbo lump crab, picked through
• 2 Tbsp. minced chives
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves
• ¾ c. chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp. cold butter
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Make 2-3 small cuts in the skin of the filets with a sharp knife then turn the fish over and season the flesh with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a sauté pan over high heat and add 1 Tbsp. of olive oil to the pan. The pan should be very hot. Heat the oil until it smokes.
3. Place the fish skin-side down in the pan, reduce the heat to medium-high, and cook for 1 ½ – 2 minutes until the skin is crisp. Flip the fish and cook for another 3 to 3 ½ minutes. Move the fish to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
4. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil to the pan along with the corn, onion, and red and poblano peppers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute for 1 – 2 minutes until the onion begins to soften.
5. Add the crab meat, chives, and thyme, stirring just to blend. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.
6. Add the chicken stock and stir to combine. Whisk in the butter.
7. Raise the heat back to high and boil until the broth reduces by half and the mixture is a sauce consistency, about 3-4 minutes. Check for seasoning one last time and adjust as necessary.
8. To plate, arrange the crab and vegetable mixture in a shallow bowl. Top with the warm fish filet.

Recipe for Success

• Use fresh fish if you can, not frozen. If you can’t get bass, or don’t like bass, pick any other white-fleshed fish; trout or snapper would work well.
• Take some extra time to cut the onion and peppers into a nice, even dice. Not only will they cook more evenly, the final presentation will be prettier.
• I haven’t tried this recipe with frozen corn but it will probably do if you can’t get fresh. The sauté will be a little less crunchy and it may take a little longer for the final sauce to reduce because of the extra water from the frozen corn.
• Be sure your pan and oil are smoking hot when you put the fish in for the first sear. If the pan isn’t hot enough the fish will stick to the pan.
• When you sauté the fish on the skin side, use a spatula to press the fish into the pan. This helps crisp the skin.

*Points Details

• Because this is a one-dish meal I’m okay with the double-digit points. However, if you want to reduce the points you can do a couple of things to get the points down to 7:
  • Reduce the olive oil to 1 Tbsp. total and cook the dish in a non-stick skillet. The skin on the fish won’t crisp up quite a much but it will still taste great. I wouldn’t eliminate the fat entirely because it is an important flavor carrier in the dish.
  • Cut the butter to 1 tsp. You’ll get some of the benefit of the butter finish but the sauce won’t be quite as luxurious.
  • Reduce the crab to 2 oz. You’ll still have a hint of crab. If you keep the crab at 4 oz. the dish is 8 points.

What to Drink
Any crisp white wine will go well with this dish. I would avoid a big California Chardonnay only because the butter in the wine will compete too much with the subtle richness of the crab in the sauté. I recently had a 2006 Willm Pinot Blanc from Alsace that would be a great match.

Learn more about chorizo

Recdipe: Chorizo Mussels

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
• Serves: 2 as dinner, 3-4 as an appetizer
• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 oz. cured (Spanish) chorizo, diced
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 medium shallots, sliced
• 1 c. white wine
• 1- ½ lb. fresh mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan.
2. Add chorizo and cook for 3 minutes or until slightly crisp and it has released some of its fat.
3. Add onion and shallots. Cook for 5 minutes until onions are translucent.
4. Deglaze the pan with the white15ine and boil for 3 minutes until reduced slightly.
5. Add mussels and stir lightly to coat mussels with liquid.
6. Cover pan and cook for 6-8 minutes, until mussel shells open up, stirring once to prevent sticking. Discard any mussels that do not open.
7. Use a large slotted spoon to transfer mussels to a shallow bowl.
8. Check broth for seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over mussles.
9. Serve immediately with warm, crusty bread.

Recipe for success

• Be sure to use cured chorizo and not fresh chorizo. Cured chorizo is often referred to as Spanish chorizo and doesn’t require refrigeration and can be eaten without cooking. Fresh chorizo, often called Mexican chorizo, is sold in the meat case and needs to be cooked before eating. Cured chorizo stands up better in this preparation.
• The combination of chopped onions, sliced shallots, and diced chorizo creates a mix of textures in the sauce. Be sure to scoop up a bit of sauce with each mussel for a nice counterpoint to the soft mussels.
• Choose a crisp white wine with little-to-no oak for this recipe such as a Sauvignon Blanc or un-oaked white blend. A heavy, oaky Chardonnay won’t blend as nicely with the flavors in this dish as lighter wine with good citrus notes.

• Sicilian spiced olives served along side young Pecorino Toscano cheese. The olives are available spiced and ready to eat at my local Central Market olive bar – I keep them around for snacking and in case I need to throw together an impromptu appetizer platter. I chose the creamy, young sheep’s milk cheese to compliment the spicy olives. Of course classic Parmigiano-Reggiano would have gone nicely, or an aged Manchego to add a little Spanish twist.
• Grilled artichokes with truffle oil. This recipe was inspired by a dish I had at NoRTH, a restaurant in the Domain shopping center here in Austin. A co-worker recommended the dish and after my first bite I was committed to recreating it. It was easy to put together and dresses up whole artichokes in a way that’s perfect for company.
  • Note: When artichokes are the only thing I’m grilling, I use a grill pan instead of running back and forth to the outside grill.
• Mussels in a spicy white wine broth. Fresh seafood and classic flavors of lemon, white wine, and thyme were perfect for a virtual visit to the blue waters of the Mediterranean. This is my own recipe and combines my favorite elements of the many great mussel dishes I’ve had. Crusty chiabatta is a must along side this dish to soak up all of the great broth.

The Plan

This meal takes 30-40 minutes top to bottom to prepare and cook. Once you start cooking the mussels and grilling the artichokes everything moves very quickly. I recommend setting the table and setting out serving dishes while the artichokes are steaming so you can serve everything piping hot.

1. Spoon olives into serving bowl. Slice cheese. Set both out to come to room temperature.
2. Trim artichoke and prepare steaming liquid. Set artichoke on steamer basket over liquid, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and steam.
3. Slice bread, wrap in aluminum foil and warm in a 250 degree oven.
4. Prep all ingredients for mussels. If grilling outside, preheat grill.
5. Remove artichoke from steamer. Cut in half, remove choke, and prep for grill. If grilling inside, preheat grill pan.
6. Begin preparing mussels and put artichokes cut-side down onto the grill.
7. When the mussels go into the pan to steam, flip the artichoke.
8. When the mussels are done the artichoke should be done. Serve both immediately.

Grilled Artichokes with Truffle Oil

Depending on your perspective, artichokes are fun to cook and eat or not worth the trouble. For a long time I was in the second camp, feeling that the yield from an artichoke just didn’t justify the effort required to cook or eat it. Over time though, I’ve realized that artichokes are a great dish for a group because they are naturally built of one-bite servings. They are also fun for sharing around the dinner table. I loved these grilled artichokes because they smack of summer and the truffle oil takes the taste experience to a whole new level.

I’ve seen artichokes grilled a couple of different ways:

• All of the cooking is done on the grill. It takes about 30-45 minutes depending on the size of the artichoke. Because the artichokes spend so much time on the grill they char heavily. This is not my favorite method because I think the extended dry heat cooking takes away from the final flavor of the dish.
  
• Steam the artichoke first and finish on the grill. This also takes about 30-45 minutes based on artichoke size, but most of the cooking happens in the steamer. The artichokes spend about 10 minutes on the grill to pickup some nice marks and flavor, but you end up with a very tender artichoke thanks to the steaming. You can also add aromatics to the steaming water to add a subtle flavor boost. My favorites are bay leaves, peppercorns, and some lemon slices.

Cooking for Engineers has the best detailed explanation for steaming and then grilling artichokes that I have ever seen. Follow their directions and you can’t go wrong. To finish the dish NoRTH style, drizzle first with olive oil then with your favorite truffle oil and sprinkle generously with good sea salt. Be sure to take the time to distribute the truffle oil and salt evenly around the artichoke halves so each bit has a little taste of truffle heaven.

At NoRTH they serve the artichokes with lemon aioli. My co-worker contends, and I agree, that they need nothing. It’s hard to improve on truffle oil and sea salt.

Learn more about artichokes

Recipe: Mussels with Spicy White Wine Broth

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
• Serves: 2-3 as dinner, 4-6 as an appetizer
• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 20 min
• Weight Watchers Points™: 8 per dinner serving

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• ¼ c. thinly sliced onion
• ¼ c. chopped shallots
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½. Tsp. red pepper flakes
• ½ c. chopped canned tomatoes, drained
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• ½ c. chopped parsley, divided
• 1 c. white wine
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2-3 lb. fresh mussels in the shell, scrubbed and de-bearded

Instructions

1. Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add shallots and onions and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 3 minutes
4. Add the tomatoes, thyme, saffron, lemon zest and juice, ¼ c. of parsley, wine, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
5. Add mussels. Cover pan and cook 6-8 minutes, until mussel shells open up, stirring once to prevent sticking. Discard any mussels that do not open.
6. Use a large slotted spoon to transfer mussels to a shallow bowl for group noshing or to individual bowls for single servings.
7. Check broth for seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Pour broth over mussels and sprinkle with remaining parsley.
9. Serve with warm, crusty bread.

Recipe for Success

• Fresh, high-quality mussels are the critical ingredient in this dish. Fresh mussels should be tightly closed. If any are open, gently try to close them. If they won’t close they are dead and should be discarded.
• If you aren’t sure about how to buy mussels, ask your fishmonger. If you aren’t sure where to get good fish in your area, try posting a message on the local boards at Chow.com. Chances are you’ll find someone in your area (or several someones) who can point you in the right direction. Your fishmonger should take the time to talk to you about the source of the seafood you are buying and how long it’s been in their case. Dodgy fishmongers equal dodgy seafood, so choose both carefully.
• If possible, use mussels on the day that you buy them. They will hold about a day in your refrigerator if necessary, but if you plan to store them overnight, buy about 10% more than you’ll need because some will die in the fridge. Whatever you do, don’t freeze fresh mussels.
• Scott Loranc, the Seafood Manager at my local Central Market recommends storing mussels in a colander over a bowl in the coldest part of your refrigerator. The mussels need air so cover them loosely with a damp paper towel until you are ready to use them. Before you cook the mussels, immerse them in cold water for about 10 minutes so they can expel any grit. Rinse them one last time in the colander and throw out any open mussels before cooking.

Learn more about mussels

Tonight I made a recipe from the Passionate Cook blog that I’ve wanted to try for a couple of weeks now – Grilled Scallops with Thyme Butter, Red Chili, and Parmesan. I’m a big fan of scallops and wanted a different kind of “turf” to go with our surf and turf dinner. I enjoyed this recipe for three reasons:

1. It was so very easy to make: Mix chili and thyme with butter, put it on top of the scallops, and bake them in the oven for a little than 10 minutes depending on size. You can make these more or less spicy by adjusting the amount of chili you put in. (Really, it is that easy.)
2. The presentation is beautiful and once again simple: Pile some baby arugula on a plate, place the scallops on top, and you’re done.
3. The recipe is healthy and easily made low-calorie: I reduced the butter to 2 Tbps. of butter for 1 lb of scallops (down from the 3.5 or so the recipe calls for) and the taste was still fantastic. In Weight Watchers land this recipe is 5 points with each serving including 5.5 oz. of scallops (2-4 depending on size) plus one cup of arugula.

In the Passionate Cook’s blog these were served as an appetizer, in which case you’d most likely only serve one unless the scallops are very small. They would also make a lovely addition to a small plates menu. And, as my dinner tonight showed, you can have them as a main course as well with additional veggies or light pasta for a healthy and flavor-packed meal.

I’m adding these to my easy entertaining repertoire because you buy the scallops cleaned and ready to go (be sure the butcher removes the little foot from the bottom) and you can pre-make the flavored butter. 10 minutes before you are ready to eat, top the scallops with butter and toss into the oven. Scallops count as an impressive dinner party food so your guests will be amazed and it’s up to you if you want to tell them how easy this dish was to prepare.

Learn more about scallops