sea scallops Archives • The Traveling Epicurean

Seafood Stuffed Artichokes

Artichokes, any way you cook them are simply a treat because they are a seasonal veggie here on the east coast. 100 percent of all artichokes that are commercially grown in the U.S. come from California where you can pretty much buy them year round. My artichoke recipe is a tasty concoction of shrimp, sea scallops, fresh spinach, mushrooms, onion, garlic, Reggiano Parmesan, bread crumbs, red wine, extra dry vermouth and chicken broth. They are a lot of work granted but it’s not like you make these all the time and once you taste them you’ll want to set aside time in the future to plan for these babies!

The Artichoke is actually a relative of the thistle so if you ever see one fully mature they open into this incredibly gorgeous giant purple flower. That’s where the choke comes in because it’s a cluster of immature florets at the center of the artichoke which is not edible. This hairy-like choke in the center MUST be removed when you stuff them. I show you how to prep the artichokes and scrape out that choke in the photos below. This seafood stuffed artichoke recipe is delicious with my sun-dried tomato aioli sauce for dunking the leaf ends and heart and you can make this aioli dip a couple of days ahead. After these stuffed artichokes you may need a sweets recipe that you can make the day before like pavlova with fresh pineapple and berries, or chocolate-avocado mousse.

Ingredients – Serves 4 People at 1 Stuffed Artichoke Each:

1 recipe of sun-dried tomato aioli sauce
4 large artichokes
3 large sea scallops cut into 1/2″ pieces
10 lg shrimp cut into 1/2″ pieces (about 1/2 lb)
3 strips of Boars Head Bacon
6 button mushroom caps sliced thinly and then chopped
6 oz. fresh spinach leaves coarsely chopped (a handful less than a bag)
1/2 large spanish onion or Vidalia onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves put thru the garlic press
2 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated Reggiano Parmesan
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp red wine (1/4 cup to deglaze onion/mushroom mixture and 2 Tbsp in the stuffing and 1/4 in baking dish with vermouth and chicken broth)
3/4 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tsp salt (1 Tsp for boiling the artichokes)
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Fill a large bowl with cold water and sliced up lemon
Cut the ends off of the artichokes
Cut 1 1/2 ” off the top
Using your thumbs in the center of the artichoke pull apart as much as you can to loosen the inner layers a little
Insert pointy spoon and begin to dig in to the center removing the purple pointy leaves and keep digging til you reach the hairy choke and then remove all of that too
Rinse the center holes of the artichokes to fully remove any left over choke
Always keep the all the artichokes in the lemon water bowl while working on them (it helps them from not turning too brown)
Pour the whole bowl of lemon water and artichokes into a large pan and add 1 tsp salt
Bring to a boil ( this will take about 15 minutes) and then simmer for 30 minutes
Drain Artichokes and turn them upside down in a baking dish to further drain
Cook up 3 pieces of Boars Head Bacon til crispy, chop and set aside
Sauté the chopped onion, mushrooms caps and garlic cloves put thru press in 2 Tbsp of olive oil, 1 Tbsp butter, and 1/2 Tsp salt til golden about 12-15 minutes
Add in 1/4 cup red wine to de-glaze pan, let reduce for 1 minute
Add in fresh chopped spinach and cover for 2 minutes
Mix spinach with tongs and take sauteed onion/mushroom/spinach mixture off of the stove and put into a fresh bowl to let cool
Wash, dry and chop sea scallops and shrimp to 1/2″ pieces
When onion/mushroom mixture is cooled add in scallops, shrimp, Gruyere, Parmesan, chopped bacon, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and 2 Tbsp red wine
Mix items gently together
Turn artichoke over in baking dish, drain any water left over at the bottom
Stuff the artichokes with the seafood stuffing making sure to add in to all the layers of leaves going around the artichoke as shown in the photo
When the artichoke is stuffed add in 3/4 cup extra-dry vermouth, 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/4 cup red wine to the bottom of the baking dish
Cover the Artichokes with foil and bake for 35 minutes
Take Foil off and bake 5 minutes more
Serve with sun-dried aioli sauce on the side for dipping the leaves and dunking the heart …mangia!

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

Wow, these bacon wrapped scallops are a scrumptious hors ‘d oeuvre! They are wonderful by themselves but the sun-dried tomato aioli sauce just bring them to another flavor level. And you can make that sauce a day ahead of the scallops. It’s important to get the largest sea scallops you can find because they make for a perfectly filling appetizer without being over powered by the bacon. Boars Head Bacon is the best bacon to use for this dish because it doesn’t have a smokey or maple flavor that would compete with the taste of scallops. I have you cook the bacon half way thru too so you don’t end up with a piece of rubbery, under cooked bacon at the end. You don’t want to over cook the sea scallops worrying about the bacon being cooked thru. Since scallops are so rich you may want to serve some non-fish hors ‘d oeuvres like the best guacamole ever, zucchini torta, baked asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto, baked yukon potato fries with Greek yogurt remoulade, or mango-avocado salsa.

Ingredients – serves 4 people with 2 scallops each or 8 people with 1 scallop each:

1 lb. sea scallops (this will be approx. 8 ex-lg sea scallops)

8 slices of Boars Head Bacon (don’t use other brands because some are too smokey and some are heavy on maple flavor)

2 lg garlic clove put thru garlic press

3 Tbsp of olive oil

sprinkle of salt

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375º

Cook 8 slices of bacon for approximately 10 minutes on medium heat until they are cooked half way thru and golden on the edges

Drain half cooked bacon on paper towels

Put 3 Tbsp olive oil in a medium size dish with 2 garlic cloves put thru garlic press

Add Sea scallops to garlic and mix, fully coating the scallops with the garlicky oil

Add in the bacon strips and also coat with the garlicky oil

Begin to wrap the scallops with the bacon, the bacon should overlap about 1″ and you will have to cut off the last 1 1/2″ because the bacon will be too long

Fasten a toothpick on an angle as shown in the photo above to hold the bacon in place while it’s cooking

Heat a cast iron pan on high for about 2 minutes

When hot add in bacon wrapped sea scallops and sear for 2 minutes

Then flip them over and immediately put the pan into a pre-heated oven for 12 minutes

Take out and serve with sun-dried aioli sauce