"Home alone last night, I searched our freezers in the pantry, utility room and garage, for any small leftover portions of excess ingredients of past recipes a.k.a. 'kibbles and bits,'" writes chef and food writer Don Grogg from his Texas home. "It was time to make a sauteed seafood entrée with a winey, lemony, creamy sauce over pasta."
Our Bay Leaf Black Pepper paste is the guest ingredient in Don's seafood alfredo, a first for someone who preserves his own lemons. "It’s really tasty stuff," Don says of our Bay blend.
Need
8 oz. Scallops - Bay or Sea , cut to bite size. (Not a fan of shrimp or scallops? Any type of bite size seafood will work, including cubed, hot smoked salmon.)
6 oz. Shrimp P&D ~25-40 count
2 TBS butter
2 TBS EVOO
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup scallions, chopped
2 TBS AP flour
½ cup Italian parsley, chopped
1½ TBS Bay Leaf Black Pepper Preserved Meyer Lemon Paste
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 cup dry white wine
½ cup Half & Half 8 oz. broccoli florets
¾ cup Reggiano Parmesan, grated
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
8 oz. of your favorite, ribbed tubular pasta (we're fans of organic rigatoni from Semolina Artisanal Pasta in Los Angeles)
Add pasta water as needed to thin
Do
Mise en place* is important to making this recipe. Have everything pre-measured and cut before beginning the cooking process. If you don’t, it will not be possible to make this recipe successfully.
Prepare the well salted pasta cooking water in a 3-quart stockpot and bring to a low boil. Place the broccoli in the salted boiling water for about three minutes, then remove it to an ice water filled bowl to stop the cooking and retain the bright green color. Add the pasta to the cooking water and cook until al dente.
Heat the butter and EVOO to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp and scallops to the skillet and cook until they are just barely done. Remove the shrimp and scallops from the skillet.
Add the flour, garlic, and scallions to the remaining butter and EVOO in the skillet. Stir for a few minutes to cook the flour to a very light roux.
Add the preserved lemon paste, lemon juice and white wine and stir as the sauce forms. Now add the half and half and the cooked scallops and shrimp with any juices to the skillet. Continue to stir to combine the ingredients into the smooth sauce. Add broccoli and most of the chopped parsley to the sauce, reserving a bit to top each serving.
Add the pasta directly from its stockpot with a slotted spoon and the cheese. With a large silicone spatula, toss to coat the pasta evenly with the sauce.
If the sauce is too thick add some pasta water to thin it. Serve in large, heated bowls and top with a sprig of parsley.
A well-chilled, dry, white wine is the perfect wine pairing.
Serves 2-3
*Mise en place is a French culinary phrase which means "putting in place" or "everything in its place". It refers to the setup required before cooking and is used in professional kitchens to refer to organizing and arranging the ingredients.
Recipe by Don Grogg - Chef, Food & Wine Writer
dongrogg@outlook.com
