{"id":15913,"date":"2018-02-24T21:58:45","date_gmt":"2018-02-24T21:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=15913"},"modified":"2018-02-24T21:58:45","modified_gmt":"2018-02-24T21:58:45","slug":"bay-scallops-on-garlicrosemarycaper-couscous-bok-choy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=15913","title":{"rendered":"bay scallops on garlic\/rosemary\/caper couscous; bok choy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The first of 2 carpal tunnel operations (not on the cook) tells us that for a while our\u00a0meals must be of a kind that can be eaten with one hand, so it was a no-brainer when I looked over the selections of seafood I found in the Union Square Greenmarket yesterday: Peconic Bay<\/a> scallops!<\/p>\n

Also, I think I finally learned how to cook these sweet mollusks very minimally,\u00a0even\u00a0when I\u00a0might not be serving them with some really wonderful couscous, as I did last night:<\/p>\n

for about ten ounces (2\/3 of a pound) of bay scallops: wash and pat them dry; sprinkle lightly with, or roll in, seasoned flour; heat\u00a0a tablespoon or\u00a0so of olive oil in a large skillet; briefly saut\u00e9 a bit of sliced garlic in the pan; add the scallops; brown lightly on all sides, leaving them in the pan for about a minute and a half; serve<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think doing anything much beyond this would be like gilding lillies, although that may sometimes be a good thing, except\u00a0for real lillies.<\/p>\n

The result of my efforts this time was sublime,\u00a0with the additional assistance of some aromatic couscous.<\/p>\n

I found the basic recipe,\u00a0created\u00a0by Melissa Clark, from which I constructed my own, on this site<\/a>. In the original, the scallops are\u00a0cooked by simply adding them\u00a0to the couscous as it finishes cooking, for “2 – 3 minutes”, a period which seemed to me a little excessive,\u00a0and I wanted to enjoy them as an element separate from the semolina, with at least a bit of crunchiness, so I arranged my own version, in which they are cooked on the side, saut\u00e9ed.<\/p>\n

The vegetable I picked out shortly after leaving the fishers’ stall was an excellent compliment to the little mollusks and the pasta, and almost as special, particularly\u00a0in New York in late February<\/p>\n

I had briefly\u00a0considered\u00a0doing something extra to these greens, but then thought otherwise, since they were so fresh, and so perfect, and because, with the scallops and the couscous as featured actors, their minimalism\u00a0would serve the meal best.<\/p>\n

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