Summer isn’t just about softshell crabs…oh no. It is also about eating food that is light enough to allow you to consume massive amounts of strawberry shortcake and margaritas.
Some people say those don’t go together, but my blog. My rules.
Scallops are a perfect summer food. They are light but rich, can be fried, baked, broiled or steamed, taste equally good for brunch and a midnight snack and are the perfect vehicle for butter.
If you are lucky enough to get scallops with the roe still attached, GET THEM! This pink sack is the flavor jackpot. It has a firm but slightly creamy texture – like a very firm sweetbread. The flavor is even more mild than a scallop, with positively no oceanic note. It is just the slightest bit iron-y, but with no offal taste. Trust me…get the roe. It is the dark meat to the scallop’s white meat: rich and decadent.
Like I like my men.
You do have to separate the roe from the scallop before you cook it, to take out the digestive tract. Just pull the roe away from the white scallop meat, and it should separate easily. Then take off the little black string from the roe, and toss it.
Voila! Now you just toss a little salt on the scallops (at least, I do),
and throw them in an oiled pan on medium high heat. Then, DON’T TOUCH THEM! You want to let the scallops and roe cook almost all the way through before you flip them. You can see if they are ready to flip by the way that the scallop’s color turns from translucent to opaque, from the bottom of the scallop up to the top. You want it to be almost totally opaque, all the way up to the top, before you flip it. Also, if you try to flip it and it sticks, it isn’t ready to go yet.
The scallops should be lightly golden with a few brown bits when you flip them, and the roe should be opaque and a bit firm. The glory of waiting to flip them is that the other side needs to cook for only a few seconds – just enough to warm and crisp the top, really. Then, you…
Squeeze a few drops of lemon over the pan…
and devour these suckers. Serve them over pasta, with a Caesar salad, or-my FAVORITE way-on a sourdough roll with a healthy dollop of tartar sauce. Sweet, mild, buttery with just a HINT of seafood flavor, scallops are some of the ocean has to offer. The roe adds a minerally depth and tastes AMAZING when mashed up and added to the tartar sauce – really adds that meaty hit of umami.
And, because these are light, you will definitely have room for that strawberry shortcake.
And yes, even if you eat it with the mayo, it is light.
My blog, my rules.
How has this Cape Cod loving gal never tried the roe with scallops? Great foodie-insider post!
Scallop roe: I need to find out what's that all about.
simple lovely recipe. Enticing and interesting