Monday, June 25, 2007

Scallops, Scampi-Style

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Since I have been working a lot of evenings, I have also been putting together a lot of late night dinners (that require a very small amount of time, effort and imagination). That being said, I have been totally bored with our food options. Most nights we eat veggie burgers, bowls of pasta, tuna/turkey sandwiches, cereal or something grilled. I don't remember the last time I even used a recipe. Last Friday I had the day off and was totally excited because I had time to go shopping and cook a real dinner which we ate at the dining room table! I even purchased 2 new white dishes for the occasion (food photography tip #1 from AT: The Kitchen).

This recipe is from Good Housekeeping. It claims to be "Healthy in a Hurry" - taking 15 min of prep and 8 min to cook. It took more like 30 min to prep but it still was very simple. I was surprised how nice the squash shavings cooked up in the pan and the lemon juice finished it off perfectly.

Scallops, Scampi-Style
serves 4

1 c. whole wheat couscous
1 1/4 lbs. sea scallops (12)
1 lemon
1 clove garlic, crushed with press
4 zucchini or yellow summer squash (8 oz each), or 2 of each
1 Tbs. olive oil

1. Prepare couscous as label directs.
2. Meanwhile, pull off and discard tough crescent-shaped muscle, if any, from each scallop; rinse to remove sand from crevices. Pat scallops dry.
3. From lemon, grate 1 tsp peel and squeeze 2 Tbs juice.
4. In bowl, toss scallops with garlic, 1/2 tsp peel, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
5. With vegetable peeler, slice each squash lengthwise into ribbons until you reach core with seeds; discard core. Set ribbons aside.
6. In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add scallops and cook 5-6 minutes, until browned and just opaque throughout, turning over once; transfer scallops to plate. Add squash to same skillet. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 2 minutes, stirring once. Uncover and cook 1 minute or until tender-crisp. Remove squash from heat; stir in lemon juice and remaining peel.
7. Spoon vegetable mixture onto 4 plates; top with scallops. Serve with couscous.

4 comments:

Jacquie said...

Yum... do you get your fish from Kates or where? I have lots of yummy and easy recipes for you if you want them or if you want to swap? Just let me know. I love cooking!!!

Sourire11 said...

Looks tasty! I know what you mean about the summer cooking - grilling is just so easy it's hard not to just do that all the time!

holly_44109 said...

Yep...I usually buy my fish products at Kate's. I've made sushi with her tuna and she sells seaweed salad that's good too :)

Cassaendra said...

That looks great! It looks like a great summertime meal - not heavy and it's nutritious. I'll definitely try the recipe. Thanks for posting it! When I first saw the dish, I thought the zucchini/squash shavings were fettucine.

- Cassaendra