Spicy Scallops with Apple-Pear Relish →

This dish combines spicy tender scallops with a fresh tangy relish made from pickled green apple and Asian pear and is an excellent starter to stimulate your taste buds before any rich meal. You can pickle the fruit ahead, or allow an hour for cooling the pickled fruit before assembling the relish; allow an hour to marinate the scallops. Once prepped, the dish comes together as a first course in a few minutes. Enjoy!

Spicy Scallops with Apple-Pear Relish
Serves 4 as an appetizer

INGREDIENTS
For the pickled apple/pear:

• 1 green apple cored, peeled, and sliced ¼ inch

• 1 Asian pear cored, peeled, and sliced ¼ inch

• ½ cup rice wine vinegar

• 1 cup water

• ½ cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon pickling spice from the market

• 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger

• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

• a few red pepper flakes (optional)

Add all the ingredients except the apple and pear to a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil.
Add the apple and pear slices and remove from the heat. Set aside to cool for at least an hour.

For the scallops:

• 1 tablespoon Cajun Spice Mix or store-bought cajun spice mix.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (or lemon juice)

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

• ½ tablespoon honey

• ½ tablespoon soy sauce

• 6-8 ounces of Bay Scallops, or Sea Scallops (Note: if using Sea Scallops remove the tough muscle and quarter the scallops)

Mix the first 6 ingredients in a bowl; add the scallops and mix to coat. Marinate for an hour.

PREPARATION
Assemble the relish:
1 cup of coarsely chopped pickled apple/pear
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
½ cup Craisins
¼ cup cilantro chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 teaspoons minced red jalapeño chile pepper (optional to taste)
1 teaspoon lime (or lemon) zest

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients and chill for at least an hour for the flavors to meld.
(Note: any left-over apple or pear slices can be stored in a covered glass container with the pickling brine in the fridge for up to a week.)

Cook the scallops:
Broil or pan-sear the scallops on a pre-heated, hot skillet for 2-3 minutes. (If you over-cook they will be tough) Allow them to cool for a few minutes before combining with the apple/pear relish.

Assemble the dish:
Mix the cooked scallops and apple/pear relish and serve plated on a leaf of lettuce.

Wine pairing: viognier, chenin blanc, dry riesling, fume blanc,

Seared Scallops with Lemony Pistachio Caper Sauce →

This recipe, adapted from Food and Wine magazine to suit my tastes, can either be served as a starter for a special meal or served along with a green salad for a light meal. The addition of a simple relish of sweet roasted Piquillo Peppers and tangy pickled Jalapeños provides a nice counterpoint to the richness of the scallops and sauce. It’s very easy to make. Give it a try!

serves 4
Ingredients:

• 1-2 anchovy fillets (to taste) coarsely chopped

• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped pistachios

• 1 tablespoon capers, drained

• 1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• pinch of cayenne

• 12 sea scallops, tough muscle removed

• 2 tablespoons bottled roasted Piquillo peppers minced

• 1 teaspoon bottled pickled Jalapeños minced

• pinch of salt

Preparation:

1. Make the sauce: add the first seven ingredients to a small food processor, blender, or Magic Bullet, and puree until smooth. Set aside for up to 4 hours at room temperature.

2. Make the relish: mix and mash the Piquillo and Jalapeño together along with a tiny pinch of salt.

Photo: c. foodblogchef 2021

3. Cook the scallops: salt and pepper the scallops and sear them on a lightly oiled, very hot cast-iron skillet. Two minutes per side. Don’t move them until you flip them. Remove from the heat and plate.

4. Plate: place 1 tablespoon of sauce on a small plate, spread it, and place 3 scallops atop the sauce on each plate. Top each scallop with a small amount of sauce and a ¼ teaspoon of mashed Piquillo-Jalapeño relish.

5. Garnish with snipped curly parsley and serve with crusty bread for sopping up the delicious sauce.

Wine pairing: Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino, Verdejo, or Chablis would all work with this rich, tangy dish.

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/warm-seafood-salad-pistachio-and-capers

Wild Mushroom Paté on Crostini with Gremolata Butter →

This simple wild mushroom paté is filled with umami-richness enhanced with garlic, fresh herbs, brandy, and lemon zest. Add the tangy, garlicky, crunchy crostini and you have a sure-to-please starter or appetizer for your vegetarian and omnivore friends. After you try the gremolata butter on crostini or toast, you may decide to keep a small tub in your fridge to have on hand for other dishes.

Wild Mushroom Paté on Crostini with Gremolata Butter

Serves 4-6
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 7 tablespoons butter separated (3+4)

• 3 garlic cloves: 2 finely minced + 1 smashed

• 1 small red chili pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped

• about 2 cups mixed mushrooms, chopped (cremini, oyster, and shitake work well)

• 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (or other fresh herb of choice)

• 1 tablespoon fresh marjoram, or thyme leaves (or combination)

• 1-2 tablespoons cognac or brandy or Marsala

• 1-2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese (to taste)

• ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• diced pickled apples, pears, or beets, or cornichons for garnish (optional but recommended)

• 8 slices of baguette less than a ½ inch thick

Make the Gremolata Butter

1. In a small saucepan or your microwave, melt 4 tablespoons (½ stick) of butter,

2. Mix in the smashed (or finely minced) garlic, lemon zest, and finely chopped parsley and simmer over low heat for 1 minute.

3. Pour the mixture into a small bowl and set aside.

Cook the Mushrooms

1. Heat the olive oil and 3 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan, fry the minced garlic and chili pepper for one minute over medium heat, stirring so you don’t burn the garlic!; then add the mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms have released their water and begin to brown.

2. Add the brandy and cook until the brandy has almost evaporated.

3. Stir in the parsley, thyme (or marjoram), and Parmesan and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Optional: for a finer consistency, process the finished cooked mixture in a food processor to your desired texture.

Make the Gremolata Crostini

1. Using a sheet pan, toast the slices of bread on one side under the broiler until light brown (taking care not to burn)

2. Turn the slices over and spread about ½ teaspoon of the Gremolata Butter on each slice.

3. Return the sheet pan with crostini slices to the broiler briefly until golden brown.

4. Spoon over the mushrooms with optional garnish and serve.

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail →

When I lived in Mexico, I fell in love with the various regional versions of shrimp cocktails, especially from the Yucatán and Oaxaca in the south. So much so that I still prefer homemade “Mexican style” cocktail sauce to the bottled stuff available at your local market. If you would like to try an alternative to the typical ketchuppy shrimp cocktail served here in the States, give this version a try. I simplified the original recipe from the New York Times to make it more accessible without sacrificing the wonderful tangy complexity of the sauce. Buen apetito!

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
Serves 6 as a starter, or 4 as a light meal with a green salad.

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons green olives, chopped

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup ketchup

• 1/4 cup chili sauce

• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano (or ¾ teaspoon dried)

• 2 tablespoons parsley, roughly chopped

• 1 tablespoon jalapeño pepper, roughly chopped (more if you want more heat)

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

• 1/2 cup Clamato juice (or ¼ cup clam juice; ¼ cup bottled tomato juice)

• ½ an eight-inch Anaheim chile roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped; half reserved (see *Note)

Ingredients for the pico de gallo:

• 1 cup tomatoes, seeded and diced

• 1/2 cup white onion, diced

• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced

• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

• 2 teaspoons minced jalapeño

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the seafood:

• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced

• 1/2 reserved Anaheim chile, roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced

• 1 pound large shrimp (16-20 count) peeled, deveined, and boiled for two minutes, drained and plunged into cold water; 3 per person as an appetizer, or 5 for a light meal. Substitute medium shrimp if you prefer.

Preparation:
1. Purée the sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl.
2. Add the pico de gallo ingredients to the sauce.
3. Delicately fold in the avocado and shrimp. Spoon into ice cream-sundae or martini glasses and serve with warm tortilla chips.
4. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

*Note: place the chile under the broiler until charred (2-3 minutes per side). Put the chile on a plate and cover with another plate. Wait 5 minutes, uncover and the skin should peel off easily. Slice the chile lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.

*Note: for a great light summer meal, serve with a mixed green salad with a bit of crumbled goat cheese or Mexican cotija dressed with a light vinaigrette alongside the cocktail.

Wine pair: my first choices would be a Rosé, Chablis, or a Chardonnay/Viognier blend that would stand up to and complement the complex acid and spice in the cocktail. Stay away from heavy oaky Chardonnays or overly minerally whites.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/campechana-extra-mexican-seafood-cocktail
Adapted from Levi Goode at Goode Company Seafood in Houston.