Jane Grigson's Fish Book - Jane Grigson [164]
Left-over sardines, or not-quite-the-best sardines make an admirable fish paste if you mash them with unsalted butter (see p. 190).
SAURY see A FEW WORDS ABOUT… GARFISH
† SCALLOPS, SMALL & LARGE
Argopecten irradians, Chlamys opercularis, Pecten maximus, Placopecten magellicanus
I daresay American readers will disagree with me, particularly those with their own special place on Cape Cod, but for scallops I would go to Boston. Never have I eaten scallops of such sweetness as the ones that lie about in a box in one of Turner’s sheds on the quay, so that people splashing by can pop a couple into their mouths like sugar lumps. A sashimi of scallops may be more civilized in terms of dining, but those tiny bay scallops need no sauce and no surroundings.
For a start, they are so full of life in their flavour that I was not surprised to read Howard Mitcham’s description of them jumping around in the tidal pools of Cape Cod, or tangled in the eel grass when the water was out, bobbing along by clapping their shells together fast. ‘It’s truly an amazing sight… it gives you a shock of bewilderment.’ We have tiny scallops in Europe, too, but all at the fishmongers from deep water, not in rock pools at low tide. Queen scallops and the less familiar princess scallops are pink-marked and beautiful, not the same species as the bay scallops, Argopecten irradians, that enliven the beaches at Providence and elsewhere on the Cape. Alan Davidson describes eating them at the No Name restaurant in Boston, simply grilled on a baking sheet smeared with margarine. What could be better? was his conclusion. The first time we had queens, vanneaux on the menu card, was at the Café de Paris at Cherbourg, and they, too, had been grilled, though with butter. Still, I think, there is nothing to beat them untouched, Turner-style. It is the freshness that counts.
The Americans have a large scallop, too, the Atlantic deep-sea scallop, Placopecten magellicanus. Was it Magellan who first found them as he beat his way down to Tierra del Fuego? They usually come much the same size as our European scallops, but they can grow as large as dinner plates. ‘These beautiful large sea scallop shells’ – Howard Mitcham again – ‘are very common in Provincetown… You can buy them from kids who peddle them on the street, or from gift shops or, if you’re lucky enough to know a scallop fisherman, he will give you hundreds of them free.… They should be scraped clean and boiled in a strong solution of water and bicarbonate of soda for an hour or more so you can get them completely clean and sterile. Never use soap or detergents to clean your scallop shells; they are porous and will absorb chemicals and odors from the soaps, making them useless for cooking. These shells make a perfect baking or serving dish and are almost indispensable for the classic Coquilles St Jacques recipes.’ I must confess I have always scrubbed scallop shells with hot water and put them into the washing-up machine, without noticing any taste of soap next time I used them. But I pass the tip on.
On a second visit to Boston I tried these larger scallops, which seem mainly to be much the same diameter as ours in Europe. This was at the Maison Robert, where I tasted again the freshness, the sweetness of the sea that had not been smothered with culinary love and fuss. One odd thing, though, scallops in America are often deprived of their corals before sale. This is beginning to change – presumably under the weight of protest from chefs and writers? – and it should. The slightly hooked coral is