Tomato and Pepper Gratin of Shrimp and Scallops (p. 390)

Scallops are one of my favorite seafoods, but I don't really ever make them at home -- I guess I'm just nervous about not cooking them fully. And to compensate for that, I over cook them, which is what I did with this recipe. Ooops.

Both the shrimp and the scallops are dusted with flour and briefly fried in olive oil until they're browned on each side.

Place the seafood in a single layer in a gratin dish and top with a sauce made of onion, garlic, sweet peppers, and tomatoes. The spices in the sauce are minimal -- just some paprika and black pepper. 

Top the whole dish with dry bread crumbs and put under the broiler for about five minutes, then serve immediately.

So, the scallops were definitely on the rubbery side, which I guess is from over-cooking. The shrimp was lovely though, and the tomato sauce went nicely with them. It's a pretty quick and easy dish for a weekday night.

scallops -- $12.59

shrimp -- $7.27

tomatoes -- $1.97

yellow onion -- $1.37

Total Cost of Tomato and Pepper Gratin of Shrimp and Scallops: $23.20

($7.73 per serving)

Pasta with a Seafood Sauce (p. 202)

Pastas are another area of The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook that I haven't delved into at a proportionate rate. Hence tonight's meal.

Sauté garlic, sweet red pepper and yellow onion in olive oil until they are soft. Add white wine and let it simmer with the veggies until the alcohol has evaporated, leaving a sort of syrup. To this mixture, stir in diced peeled tomatoes and a pinch of dried red chili flakes. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook until the tomatoes have formed a thick sauce.

Boil water to make the pasta in and, once the pasta is put into the water, add diced scallops and shrimp to the tomato sauce.

Cook the pasta until it is slightly under done, drain it, and add it to the tomato and seafood mixture to finish cooking for a few more minutes.

Squirt some fresh lemon juice on top of the pasta and serve.

Delicious! We really enjoyed this one. It's sweet (from the tomatoes) and spicy (from the red pepper flakes). The sauce isn't seafood-y, it's just a basic tomato sauce, but the scallops and shrimp add a really nice flavor (and texture) into the bites that they're in. We'd make this again, for sure. We're heading to the beach in August and want to make it with whatever fresh seafood we find.

I cut the recipe in half and it was perfect for two. Next time (if I halved it again) I'd use a little less of the red pepper flakes to cut down the spice a tiny bit, but otherwise it's fantastic.

Also, a note on the pasta. The recipe called for Vemicelli, but Fresh Market didn't have any, so we used Perciatelli instead. These are basically long skinny tubes, and they're awesome. I've never really liked spaghetti or angel hair, but these are much thicker and the same length. Eat them.

onion -- $.86 (half is left)

red pepper -- $1.96 (half is left)

tomatoes -- $2.02

scallops -- $2.25

shrimp -- $3.50

pasta -- $1.99 (half is left)

Total Cost of Pasta with a Seafood Sauce: $12.58