In keeping with the lenten season I find myself on the second Friday of lent and another day without meat. The sea however is still full of treasures that are fair game for an end of the week menu.
One of my favorite of these treasures are scallops. Normally when cooking them at home I make them in an oriental fashion. Sauteing them in soy sauce, red pepper, sesame oil and garlic. Wanting to try something new and use the fettuccine noodles I had in the pantry, I went to my go to cook book "The Joy of Cooking". While reading a section about Scallops I came upon an interesting bit of information.
The book referenced that in France scallops are know as coquilles St. Jacque and are emblematic of St. James' tomb, known as Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. James was the son of Zebedee, the brother of John the Apostle, and one of Jesus' first disciples. After further research I found out that christians making a pilgrimage called, "The Way of St. James", to his tomb would eat scallops as a form of penance. This particular mollusks' shell is representative of St. James himself and the pilgrimage to his tomb, taken by many christians. The grooves on top representing the journey, originating at many points but all leading to the same place just as each persons pilgrimage does. So at this point I was feeling good about cooking the scallops but then I realized something that made them even more interesting for this particular Friday.
This Sunday in the Catholic church is Transfiguration Sunday. A day where we remember when Jesus took three disciples up a mountain and they witnessed him transfigure. Jesus became radiant and spoke with Elijah and Moses and was called "Son" by a voice from the sky.
Well one of the disciples that went with him happened to be James.
After discovering all of this I began to feel like I was meant to make this meal on this day. So naturally, the next step was to decide what the right flavors for the scallops and fettucini would be.
Being that St. James tomb was in Spain, I decided that Spanish Saffron, being common in spanish cooking might make a decent spice for the noodle sauce. Then I remembered seeing a recipe on Rachel Ray's t.v. show where she used Saffron to flavor a sauce for noodles. The pieces were following into place. So with what I remembered from her show and a little of my own flavor, todays recipe is what I came up with.
When I took my first fork full of noodles with a scallop resting at the tip I was immediately shocked by how well the saffron tasted on the noodles. Having only ever used it with rice dishes I was slightly skeptical. There was no need to be though, the saffron and tomatoes with a hint of the white wine giving a slight boost was perfect. When something turns out this good I can't help but wonder if it was meant to be.
Heres what you will need
1 pound fettuccine noodles
Extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves (Minced)
1 Small onion (Chopped)
1/2 cup white whine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 pinch of saffron threads
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
chopped parsley
1 pound sea scallops
Start off by getting about 3 quarts of water boiling for the noodles. And place the noodles in once the water is bubbling and reduce the heat slightly. Add a pinch of salt and olive oil to the pot.
While the noodles cook at medium/high, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan and add in 1 clove of minced garlic. When the garlic starts to simmer add in the onion and cook until translucent or about 3 minutes then add in white wine and deglaze the pan. Raise the heat and simmer off the alcohol. Then add in the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes and saffron threads. Stir well and raise heat till simmering and then reduce heat. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Now add in the 1/4 cup of heavy cream and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Keep an eye on the noodles and remove them from the pot into a strainer when they are just short of being done. They will cook the rest in the sauce. When they are fully strained place them in the sauce pan and mix well so they are coated with the sauce. Place the 2 tablespoons of butter on top and allow to melt. Mix again and season.
To cook the scallops, in a medium sauce pan heat a small amount of olive oil and minced garlic until the garlic sizzles. You can use butter or have half butter half oil if you prefer. Saute the scallops about 3-5 at a time or until they are opaque and slightly browned on both sides. Once All the scallops are cooked you can incorporate them into the noodles as I did or you can serve them to the side or on top of the noodles. Either way move the noodles to a serving dish and allow to cool for about 5 minutes or so.
These noodles are absolutely amazing. The saffron gives the noodles a beautiful golden color along with its great taste. If you don't like scallops then substitute with pretty much any meat you like or by themselves. These noodles are that good.
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