By Monica Henin
When it comes to delicious and refreshing food, I think seafood tops the list because the taste and flavor of seafood are so exotic and refreshing.
You get the feeling of eating meat, but you don’t get that ‘heavy’ feel as if your arteries are going to get clogged. Seafood is light on stomach and heart, and if it is prepared ‘gourmet’ style, then the taste gets a lot better altogether.
Nothing beats ‘gourmet seafood’, so we are going to discuss two seafood recipes that you can prepare when you have some guests coming at a short notice.
Seared Scallops with Jalapeno Vinaigrette
Ingredients
1. 12 large fresh sea scallops.
2. ¼ cup olive oil.
3. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
4. ¼ cup rice vinegar.
5. 1 large seeded jalapeno pepper, membranes removed.
6. ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard.
7. 1 pinch cayenne pepper.
8. 1 pinch sea salt.
9. Salt (to taste).
10. Freshly ground black pepper (to taste).
11. 2 oranges that are peeled and cut in between sections as segments.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Method:
1. Add rice vinegar, jalapeno, Dijon mustard and olive oil in a blender. Blend the mixture until you get a smooth liquid puree. This will take 1-2 minutes.
2. Then, season this puree with salt and black pepper as per your taste.
3. Now, you have to season scallops with cayenne pepper and sea salt. After that, take a red copper frying pan and heat vegetable oil in it over high heat. Add scallops to the skillet and cook until they turn brown. Cook for 2-3 minutes each side and then, flip it to cook another side.
4. Transfer the scallops to a plate and garnish them with orange segments and drizzle jalapeno vinaigrette over the top.
That was simple, right? There is one more coming, which is as simple as this previous one. The name of the recipe is….
Sea Bass Cuban Style
This recipe can also be prepared in a short amount of time and can save you from being in the kitchen all day when you have guests coming over to your place.
Ingredients
1. 4 fillets sea bass (6 ounces each).
2. 2 tablespoons minced garlic.
3. 2/3 cup sliced stuffed green olives.
4. 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes.
5. 4 cups chopped and seeded plum tomatoes.
6. 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
7. 1 ½ cups dry white wine.
8. 2 tablespoons butter.
9. ¼ cup drained capers.
10. 1 ½ cups white onions (thinly sliced).
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 Minutes
Method:
1. Heat oil in a large red copper square pan over medium heat. Add onions for sautéing. Once onions become soft, add garlic into the pan and saute for about a minute.
2. Now, add tomatoes into the pan and cook until they begin to soften. Once they soften up, add olives, red pepper flakes, wine and capers into the pan and cook on a low-medium heat.
3. Add sea bass into the pan now and cover the pan. Let all the ingredients cook for 10-12 minutes on low-medium heat. You can check if the fish is cooked by using a fork. If the fish flakes, then it means it’s cooked.
4. Transfer fish to a serving plate, but keep the sauce in the pan only.
5. Add butter to the sauce and increase the heat as well. Once the sauce thickens, turn down the heat.
6. Add cilantro to the sauce and then, pour sauce over fish.
Food is ready, so now, you can call out your guests and enjoy these two great seafood delicacies with some beer or wine, depending on what you all like to drink.
Author Bio: Monica Henin, the author of this post is a food expert and a passionate blogger. She wanted to contribute some amazing vegetarian recipes that could help control the cholesterol level in people. Her recipes are not just good for health, but tastes delicious as well. Check out more about Monica Henin’s work at: Addonkitchen.com
You are right, these are two easy and delicious recipes. I just had scallops the other night! If you cannot get your hands on sea bass, striped bass is a good alternative. Also farm-raised barramundi (Asian sea bass) is becoming more common in American supermarkets, with Australis brand leading the charge with responsibly raised and tasty fish.