Scallops in Miso with Asparagus

I use miso glaze constantly on salmon, so it makes sense to try it with scallops. This Eating Well recipe has essentially the same ingredients for miso glaze as my favorite (Eating Well) salmon treatment: miso, mirin, garlic, ginger, rice wine. I added a little sesame oil and tamari for good measure.

Marinate for FIVE minutes or you will ruin the scallops! Scallops cook 2-3 minutes per side and come out of the pan. Put the rest of the sauce in the pan and reduce over the heat for a few minutes.

I didn't want soba to go with my scallops; I wanted asparagus! So I trimmed and sliced a bunch of asparagus and cooked it for about 2 minutes in boiling water and then drained it over some pea shoots (to wilt them).

Add this to that and it should be all done. The reality is that, unlike the noodles that absorb sauce, the veggies release water into the sauce and I was trying to reduce the sauce again. Then I waited for my neighbor to come over for lunch and my al dente asparagus got a little soggy. Tasty enough! I can try this again. Unfortunately, I need to wait another week for the greenmarket to bring me scallops and asparagus.

Verdict: B+
Credits: Miso-glazed scallops with Soba, Eating Well
Leftovers? Nope, shared with the professor.

Notes: Next time, reduce the mirin by half and the vinegar to allow for the liquid introduced by the veggies. Also drain the veggies well.

Crapshoot Chowder

A recipe for a Real Simple soup popped up while I was shopping -- since I had some luck with the RS recipes, I checked it out. Scallop chowder sounds delicious, but scallops were $16/lb and they wanted 1.5 lbs in their recipe. Not happening.

I ordered a half pound of large sea scallops (about 6 or 7) and a pound of the "fish cubes for stew." The mix of fish is whatever is the scrap of the day -- usually salmon, tuna, and swordfish, according to the description. A bit of a crapshoot.

What came was about 3/4 salmon and a little tuna. Which is fine.

Making the soup:

Bacon? Check.
Scallops? Check.
Onions? Check.
Potatoes? Check
Fish cubes? Check.

Here's the orignal recipe. While I was frying the bacon, I checked for salmon chowder recipes, since there was so much salmon in my fish cubes. This Epicurious recipe for Salmon Chowder seemed promising too.

I fried six slices of bacon and removed the bacon. Then cooked the scallops in the bacon fat, a couple of minutes a side, and removed them. Then the 4 red potatoes (more like a pound than half a pound) and three really small (organic small) onions sliced long-ways. I should have done just the onions and then deglazed with wine. After the onions were soft, then I deglazed with wine -- working around the potatoes.

Then a pint of chicken stock. After some simmering, a half cup of cream. Salt and pepper. I wasn't trying to double the recipe, but the stock wasn't enough for all the potatoes and the upcoming fish, so I added a cup and half of milk. Also some fresh thyme.

Bring to a simmer for a while, then add the fish. A little later, add the corn and return the scallops to the pot. More salt and pepper.

Let everything get hot. The salmon chowder recipe had lemon juice, which sounded good, so I squeezed a lemon into the pot.



Garnish with parsley and crumbled bacon.



Yum. Everything contributes a flavor. The salmon is great. Tuna very good. Scallops are so buttery and sweet, it seems impossible. Plus, bacon fat, potatoes, cream.

Very thin broth, but will probably thicken with the starch from the potatoes and corn. Thin is good, a little wet slurp with each different kind of bite. The scallops are so rich I wouldn't want it to be much heavier.

Verdict: A-
Credits: Scallop and Corn Chowder, Real Simple Magazine
Salmon Chowder recipe at Epicurious.com
Leftovers? Oh yes.

Notes: If FreshDirect challenges you for a zip code, use 10023. I am sure they deliver everywhere in that code. In mine, you'd be further challenged because I live in such a remote neighborhood (puh-leeze).