Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers - Moosewood Collective [42]
serving & menu ideas
Pass extra dressing and bowls of olives, red onion slices, and cucumber slices at the table.
mussels with sherry & saffron
Warm and aromatic—like bouillabaisse without all the fuss. Mussels are best eaten right away, so call everyone to the table when you put the mussels into the pot.
SERVES 2 TO 4
TIME: 15 MINUTES
2 pounds cleaned and debearded fresh mussels
1 orange
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup sherry
pinch of saffron
½ teaspoon salt
sprinkling of black pepper
1 loaf of crusty French or Italian bread
In a colander, rinse the mussels with cold running water. Discard any mussels that are cracked or don’t close when tapped. Grate the orange peel and juice the orange.
In a large pot with a lid, warm the olive oil on medium heat and cook the garlic for a minute. Add the sherry, ½ cup of water, the orange zest and juice, saffron, salt, and pepper. Increase the heat, cover, and bring to a boil. Add the mussels, cover, and cook for 3 to 6 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the shells open. Discard any unopened mussels.
With a slotted spoon, place the mussels in soup bowls and then ladle the broth over. Serve with plenty of crusty bread to sop up the juices.
variations
Add chopped tomatoes and chopped parsley at the same time as the sherry.
After removing the mussels from the pot, stir ½ cup of half-and-half or cream into the broth.
serving & menu ideas
Serve with a salad such as Baby Greens with Pecans & Pears.
seared scallops
These sweet, delectable scallops are browned and caramelized on the outside, moist on the inside, and ready in an instant.
SERVES 4
TIME: 15 MINUTES
1 pound scallops
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
lemon wedges
Rinse the scallops and pat dry with a paper towel. If they differ in size, cut the larger ones in half crosswise.
Heat the oil in a large skillet on high heat until the oil is very hot but not smoking. Add the scallops and stir gently to coat with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the scallops have developed a brown crust, usually in 2 or 3 minutes, gently turn them over and cook until the other side is browned, 2 or 3 minutes. Transfer the scallops to a serving dish. Serve with lemon wedges.
INGREDIENT NOTE Ask for “dry” or untreated scallops, ones that have not been treated with STP solution (sodium tripolyphosphate), a preservative.
serving & menu ideas
Serve on a bed of rice or baby spinach. These scallops are really good drizzled with Brown Butter Sauce. Try them with Brilliant Yellow Noodles and Wilted Spinach Salad with Pecans & Asiago for a vibrant supper.
crisp pan-fried scallops
These scallops are pan-fried, but the effect is very similar to deep-fried. Panko crumbs or flakes are Japanese-style bread crumbs. They’re coarser and more irregularly shaped than regular bread crumbs, and although they look fresh, they’re dry. When used for frying, they absorb less oil and make a lighter, crunchier, more tender and delicate coating that stays crisp longer than ordinary coatings.
SERVES 4
TIME: 15 MINUTES
1 pound scallops
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
1½ cups panko
¼ cup vegetable oil
lemon wedges
Rinse the scallops and pat dry. If they differ in size, cut the larger ones in half crosswise. In a bowl, whisk the egg with the milk, salt, and pepper. Add the scallops and toss gently to coat. Spread the panko on a flat plate and generously coat each scallop.
Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat until the oil is hot but not smoking. Carefully add about half of the scallops, one at a time. Cook on the first side for 3 or 4 minutes, until golden brown. (If the panko is browning too quickly, reduce the heat.) Turn over the scallops with tongs and cook on the other side until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Place the cooked scallops on paper towels to soak up extra