Sustainable Salmon and Scallops Are Super

I know I said my next post would be about the bounty of our nearby farm market, but after getting Cook's Illustrated in the mail (Christopher Kimball, I love you) I just had to try their seared scallop method. And then we received CI's The New Best Recipe cookbook as a gift, and my salmon-adoring husband just had to make the Broiled Salmon with Barbecue Sauce and Crisp Potato Crust. Doesn't that sound incredible? It was, and so were the scallops…

…though we tweaked the recipes just a tad--not because we needed to--but because we're food geeks and find it fun. Here are our recipes, heavily influenced by the even bigger food geeks at CI.

Pan-Seared Scallops with Caper Brown Butter
(Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated No. 101)
Serves 4.

Note: Soak scallops in 1 quart water, ¼ cup lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons salt, 30 minutes. Step should only be done with “wet” scallops. “Wet” indicates treatment with sodium tripolyphosphate to increase shelf life and help scallops retain moisture. This is the kind available in most supermarkets. “Dry” scallops are preferable because they lack the chemical taste STP produces and they brown better because they’re less moist. Whole Foods only had “wet” so I started them off with a soak.

1 ½ lbs sea scallops, small side muscles removed
2 tbsp vegetable oil
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp capers
1 tsp fresh parsley, minced
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Line baking sheet with kitchen towel. Put scallops on lined sheet and cover with second towel. Press gently and let rest at room temperature, 10 minutes.

Heat 4 tablespoons butter in saucepan over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in capers, parsley, salt, and pepper and cook, 30 seconds. Remove from heat and cover with foil.

Season scallops with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet (NOT non-stick as recommended by CI; I don't think the scallops brown well enough in non-stick) over high heat. Cook half scallops until browned, about 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon butter to skillet and flip scallops, cooking for 1 to 1 ½ minutes while basting with butter.

Move cooked scallops to plate and cover with foil. Wipe out skillet with paper towels and repeat cooking with rest of oil and butter.

Serve with sauce.

Broiled Salmon with Barbecue Sauce and Crisp Potato Crust
(Adapted from The New Best Recipe 2004)
Serves 8 to 10 (or 2 for a few days; it’s really good cold).

3 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
4 oz salted potato chips, crushed
6 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1 side salmon filet
1 tsp olive oil
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
3 tbsp barbecue sauce (your favorite)

Put oven rack at highest position and second rack at upper-middle. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Pulse bread in food processor until you have about 1 cup crumbs. Spread them evenly on baking sheet and toast on lower rack, shaking couple times, for 5 minutes. Combine crumbs, chips, and parsley in bowl.

Turn oven up to broil. Cover baking sheet with foil. Rub salmon with oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook fish on upper rack for 10–12 minutes. Remove from oven, slather with barbecue sauce, and cover with mixture in bowl.

Cook on lower rack until top turns brown, about 1 more minute.