Sunday, July 18, 2010

Seafood supper -- very summery


When you don't want to heat up the kitchen, go for a cold supper.
I made this meal for company over the weekend, and only one of these four dishes required significant cooking -- so I made it the day before.
Supper consisted of heirloom tomato and fresh mozzarella salad (just add olive oil, chopped fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper), eggplant caponata (this required sauteing sliced local eggplant and summer squash in olive oil, cooling, then mixing with canned tomatoes, capers, garlic and green olives -- served at room temp), and two cold seafood dishes, recipes below.
We also had a couple of crisp white wines, fresh cheeses and multigrain cibatta bread.
The meal was a complete hit!

Recipe: Crab Salad with Asparagus, Lemon and Parmesan (Serves 4-5)
Ingredients:
1 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
1 pound fresh lump crab meat
2 lemons, with their zest
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese strips
Instructions:
Blanch asparagus in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes, drain and plunge into cold water. Drain again and pat dry.
In a large bowl, combine asparagus with the crab meat.In a large bowl, combine asparagus with the crab meat. Sprinkle the zest from both lemons into the bowl and stir gently. Add olive oil and stir gently again. Cover and chill for a few hours.
Just before serving, remove bowl from the fridge and add lemon juice, stirring again. Add salt and pepper, and top with cheese strips.

Scallop and Plum Ceviche (front of photo)
Serves 5-6

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh sea scallops, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch dice
3 plums or pluots, pitted and cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch dice
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
Salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Instructions:
In a bowl, toss together scallops, plums, tarragon, lime juice and zest. Season wit salt and cayenne. Let mixture sit at room temp for about 15 minutes.
Adjust seasonings and serve.

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