Risotto With Scallops: Risotto con Capesante

For this recipe I first used bay scallops, which are a small type of scallops, but you could certainly use sea scallops, then cut them into smaller sizes, which is what I did about a week later when I made the dish again. I say "smaller sizes," because sea scallops have quite a variation in size, with some being the diameter of a golf ball, while others can be the diameter of a baseball or even larger.

 

The risotto should not be dry, nor should it be runny, but rather it should be creamy. The important thing is to keep stirring the rice, as this process removes some of the starchy coating of the rice to help add the creaminess to the risotto. Arborio rice is a great variety of rice to use for risotto. Arborio rice originally came from northwestern Italy in the area around Turin (Italian: Torino) and a little town named "Arborio." The rice is now also grown elsewhere in the world, including in the United States. 

Ingredients:

 

1 pound scallops

4 tablespoons butter (divided use)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1 1/3 cups dry white wine

2 cups clam (or seafood) broth

2 cups vegetable stock 

good pinch of salt

(optional) the top 1 1/2 inches of each spear from 1 pound of asperagus 

 

In a skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the scallops and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, until the scallops begin to lightly brown, then add 1/3 cup of white wine and saute further until only a couple of tablespoons of liquid remain. Sprinkle a little salt onto the scallops.

 

In a heavy-bottomed pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat, then add the finely chopped onion. Stir constantly as you saute the onion for about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the rice and mix everything together well in the buttery mixture for about 90 seconds. Now add the dry white wine and stir pretty much constantly (you don't need to stir vigorously) until the wine is down to a few tablespoons and then add 1 cup clam/seafood broth and 1 cup vegetable broth. Again stir until the liquid is reduced by more than half, then add 1/2 cup clam/seafood broth and 1/2 cup vegetable stock. Follow the same pattern of stirring, and, if using asparagus tips, after the liquid heats up, add the asparagus while you continue to stir. Add the scallop mixture from the skillet and keep stirring until the asparagus is tender, but still firm (not mushy).

 

Top two photos are with scallops and asparagus tips and the third and fourth photos are just with bay scallops ...

WORD HISTORY: 

Fierce-This word is related to "feral" and to "ferocity," both Latin-derived words borrowed by English via French, and to "ferocious," a Latin word borrowed directly from Latin. It goes back to Indo European "gwher," which meant, "wild animal, wild beast." This gave Latin the adjective "ferus," meaning "wild, untamed, savage," from a "likely" Italic form of "feros" (wild, savage).^ Latin-based Old French took the word as "fers" (masculine singular form), meaning, "wild, mighty, harsh, savage;" thus, "fierce, ferocious," which became "fiers" in the French dialect in England. English borrowed the word in the mid 1200s as "fiers," essentially with the same meanings, although the meaning "brave, bold" arose for awhile (perhaps seen as the result of being fierce and ferocious?), but died out after a couple of hundred years (by the mid 1500s?).   

 

^  Italic is a branch of the Indo European family of languages and includes Latin, Umbrian, Venetic, and others, most of which have died out. Latin's own limited use today is mainly because its dialects evolved into several modern languages: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Catalan, Sardinian, and several others. 

Scallops & Polenta with Herbs

Like many types of seafood, scallops are pretty expensive, with sea scallops being larger and more expensive than bay scallops. Sea scallops are able to stand up to the hot oil and cooking process better than the small, more tender and sweeter tasting bay scallops. The cooking process is done to sear the sea scallops a bit, but without overdoing it, and the amount of ground red pepper should not leave your mouth smoking like a furnace; rather, the red pepper and the paprika should just provide a tad of seasoning, later topped by a sprinkle of fresh lemon juice. If you prefer, you can replace the red pepper with ground black pepper.

 

Ingredients (4 servings):

 

24 large sea scallops

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground red pepper (like cayenne) to dust the scallops (or ground black pepper)

1/2 teaspoon sweet Spanish paprika (smoked)

4  tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons lemon juice

For the polenta:

1 cup quick cooking polenta (also called instant)

2 1/2 cups milk

1 1/3 cup water (more if needed)

2 tablespoons butter

3  tablespoons heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 heaping tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped

1 heaping tablespoon parsley or cilantro, chopped

 

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spread the scallops out on a plate or platter. (If the scallops are particularly moist, dab them lightly with a paper towel to remove any heavy amount of moisture). Lightly sprinkle the scallops with ground red pepper (or ground black pepper) and sweet paprika, then place the scallops in the skillet, seasoned side down. Now add the butter and let it melt as you season the top side of the scallops (you may have to do all of this in two batches). Turn the scallops over (after about 2 1/2 minutes, and they and the red pepper/paprika should be lightly browned) and cook them on the other side for about another two minutes, but allow whatever time is needed to cook the scallops through. When the scallops are cooked through, remove the skillet from the heat and sprinkle on the lemon juice.

 

Meanwhile, in a heavy bottom sauce pan over medium heat, heat the milk and water until it just starts to boil, then stir in the polenta little by little (initially using a whisk is recommended; it will help to prevent lumps), then continue stirring (I usually change to a spoon) until the polenta is nice and thick (4 to 6 minutes?). Stir in the butter and cream, then add the thyme, sage and parsley/cilantro. Mix together well. 

To serve: add some polenta to a shallow bowl or to a plate, then top with some scallops and a little of the butter/oil from the pan, along with a little chopped parsley or cilantro. Add a lemon wedge for those who want more lemony flavor.

 

WORD HISTORY:

Scallop-This word is related to "shell," "scale" (patches of skin), "scale" (weighing device), all from Germanic, but only "shell" is an original English word from its Germanic roots, as "scale" (patches of skin) was borrowed from French, which had it from Germanic Frankish, the word "scale" meaning "weighing device" is really simply from the Old Norse form of "shell," but this specific meaning came to English from Old Norse. "Scallop" goes back to Indo European "skel," which had the notion "to cut, to split, to chip." This gave Old Germanic the root "skal/skel," with the meaning, "to split, to divide," which gave Frankish, a Germanic dialect/language, "skala," with the meaning, "husk, shell," and this was absorbed into Old French as "escale, meaning, "shell," which then produced "escalope," meaning, "the shell of a nut." English borrowed the word in the later 1300s or very early 1400s, initially as "scalop," but the second 'l' was added not long thereafter. Originally it meant "shell of the sea creature (a scallop)," but that designation quickly transferred to the sea creature itself, and thus, to the creature's interior flesh (abductor muscle). The larger shells of the scallops were used as baking dishes, and the bright colored wavy shells were also used to pattern decorative designs. These brought about the verb usage beginning in the late 1600s for the idea of "designing something to look like the curves of a scallop shell," and then a few decades later to mean "to cook in a scallop-shaped dish." English had borrowed French "escalope" (see above) circa 1500, meaning, "the edge of something shaped like a scallop shell." The French word had developed the meaning, "the way to cut veal into pieces" in circa 1690, perhaps from the idea of cutting the veal into pieces resembling scallop pieces, then later, "to cut meat or fish into thin slices," but why this meaning developed is uncertain (perhaps just a further development of cutting the meat?). "Escalope" is not a terribly common word in the United States, where you are more likely to see it on a menu in an upscale restaurant, but the average American is likely not all that familiar with the word, although they might well connect it with "scallop." How commonly it is used in England or in other English speaking countries or regions, I don't know.     

Italian Seafood Pasta: Spaghetti allo Scoglio

This dish is known throughout Italy, but as you can imagine, it is extremely common in communities along the sea. "Scoglio" means, "rock, reef, rock from the sea;" so it's easy to see the connection to various seafood that live in and around the rocks or reefs by the seashore.* It is not a cheap dish, as many, or perhaps most, seafood is expensive, and to buy such a dish in a restaurant, regardless of whether in your home country or in Italy, will likely lighten your wallet considerably or burden your credit card statement for a decent serving. You can save some money by making this wonderful seafood spaghetti at home, and it's really not hard to make, but there are steps to be followed. (NOTE: If you have had this in a restaurant, they may have had some other seafood included, like squid or scampis, or they may have just as likely excluded one or more of the seafood items I use for this recipe. Remember, Italian cooking is more about fresh ingredients available in a given area; thus, Italian cooking tends to be regional, although the basis of many recipes are the same.) This is not meant to be an actual tomato sauce dish, but rather a seafood and wine broth with some seasoned tomato flavor. This is a FANTASTIC dish!  

 

Serve with bakery fresh Italian bread ... 

 

Ingredients (4 large servings):

 

4 tablespoons olive oil

3 large cloves of garlic, crushed, if you prefer to remove it easily later; otherwise, mince it

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

2/3 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 or 2 fresh red chili peppers, chopped

1 cup tomato sauce

1 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 teaspoon thyme

2/3 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups dry white wine 

1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley

12 medium size sea scallops

12 medium to large shrimp (shells removed and deveined, you can leave the tails on if you'd like)

12 mussels, scrubbed

12 clams, scrubbed

3/4 pound spaghetti or linguine

extra virgin olive oil to drizzle over each serving 

 

Add the olive oil to a large pot with a lid over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the garlic and chili flakes (or chopped red chili) and cook another 2 minutes, stirring pretty much constantly. Add the halved grape tomatoes and continuing cooking until the tomatoes are well softened. Stir in the tomato sauce, oregano, thyme, black pepper and salt. After about 3 minutes, add the white wine, stir well and let cook 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the heat down slightly. Add the clams and put the lid on the pot; let cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, then add the mussels and replace the lid. Remove the lid after another 4 minutes and see if the clams and mussels have all opened, if not, replace the lid and cook another minute or two, until they are fully opened (remove and discard any clams or mussels that have not opened at all). Remove the clams and mussels to a platter or bowl temporarily. (In the meantime, cook the spaghetti in simmering salted water until it softens somewhat, but it is still a little firm, about 7 or 8 minutes at most.) Drain the spaghetti, add it to the pot and mix it into the sauce very well (it will finish cooking in the sauce, thus taking on the flavors of the sauce). Add the sea scallops to the pot and cook for two minutes, then add the shrimp; cook until the shrimp are just tender (they cook pretty quickly). Check to be sure the spaghetti is cooked (you don't want it to turn mushy, though). Add the chopped Italian parsley and mix everything together well. Turn off the heat, add the clams and mussels back to the pot and replace the lid for about three minutes just to allow the clams and mussels to warm up. You don't have to pile every plate high with the seafood, as you can add more as you go. Drizzle just a little extra virgin olive oil over each serving. 

* Italian "scoglio" goes back to transliterated Ancient Greek "skópelos," which meant "lookout point;" thus also, "high point, peak," which presumably led to the further meaning of "reef, rock rising from the sea, cliff." Latin borrowed the word as "scopulus," with the same general meanings. This gave Ligurian "scogiu" and then Italian took it as "scoglio." NOTE: Ligurian is an Italic language spoken along the coastal area of northern Italy and into southern France, although some refer to it as a dialect.   

WORD HISTORY:

Swain-This word is distantly related to "self" and to the adverb and conjuction forms "so," all from the Germanic roots of English, and it is also distantly related to "sole" (adjective for "single," but not related to the noun for "part of a shoe or a foot"), a Latin derived word borrowed by English via French. Further, it is closely related to the name "Sven" (also "Swen"), which is from the North Germanic languages. "Swain" goes back to Indo European "swe," meaning "oneself, self, separate." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "swainaz," meaning "herdsman, one who looks after animals," then later, "a young servant boy." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "swan" (long 'a,' and not to be confused with the bird), meaning, "a herder, a swineherd, a warrior" (the "swineherd" meaning has led some to believe "swain" is related to the similar word "swine," but they are from different sources, although our ancestors may well have conflated the two because of the similar pronunciation). The Old Germanic form gave Old Norse "sveinn," meaning "boy, servant." Old Norse speakers settled in much of northern England, and the Old Norse word certainly influenced the spelling of the English word to "sweyn" and then "swain," but also in the meaning to "a servant to a knight" in the middle 1100s. It later was used in compounds "coxswain" and "boatswain" (once spelled "batswegen," where the 'g' melded with 'e' to produce the 'ai/ay' sound), types of officers on boats/ships, and the latter came to be pronounced as if "bo-son." Many relatives of "swain" in the other Germanic languages have died out or experienced very limited usage, although Swedish "sven," in the sense "a young male servant," is still around, but not common.