This dish has been a favorite in our crowd since I can remember.  I’m told it’s origin is French Continental cuisine.  If that’s the case, then merci. Anytime I crave something special regarding scallops, this is the go-to  recipe. These scallops simmered in cream and vermouth make for a deliciously decadent entrée that goes greet with rice, couscous, quinoa, farro or pasta. We paired it with egg noodles, and it was heavenly.

CALLOPS WITH TOMATOES

Ingredients:

1½ pounds scallops
2 tablespoon butter
1 pound tomatoes, seeded and diced or 1 can (28-oz,) tomatoes, drained and diced
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup dry vermouth
¾ teaspoon crushed saffron threads

Instructions:

1. Rinse scallops under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut any large scallops in half.
2.  Melt butter in a fry pan or deep skillet. Add scallops and cook over low heat, stirring, 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and cook over high heat, stirring, 5 to 7 minutes or until mixture is dry.
3.  Stir in cream, vermouth and saffron. Bring to a boil, add scallops and cook over medium heat until tender.  Using a slotted spoon, remove scallops and transfer to a hot  buttered platter.  Cover and keep warm. Boil cooking liquid, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to coat a spoon. If needed, taste and adjust seasoning.
4.  Pour sauce over scallops, mix well and serve immediately.
   Yield: 4 servings.
   

When we say “Criollo,” we mean Creole style but not in the sense of Louisiana Creole cuisine. In Puerto Rico it means “coming from the country” or native Caribbean cooking. And though it is spicy in its own way it is not as fiery as Bayou-style cooking. Which leads us to today’s entrée: Camarones Al Criollo or Shrimp Creole Style. In this recipe, the shrimp itself is easy to cook, it’s the preparation that takes up most of the cooking time, it’s well worth it, believe me.

Back on the Island, the usual accompaniment to this dish is rice. But you can use whatever grain you desire, or even pasta. On this occasion we served the shrimp over pearl couscous, also known as Israeli couscous.  Have fun with this one.

Note that, apart from the typical Nuyorican ingredients, we also used chopped leeks. If you can’t locate leeks, you can use other vegetables such as broccoli, spinach  or okra.

CAMARONES AL CRIOLLO
(Shrimp Creole Style)

Ingredients:

1½ pound medium-sized shrimp
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-sized onion, peeled and chopped
½ cup coarsely chopped leeks
1 sweet green pepper (pimento), cored, seeded and chopped
2 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 (28.2 oz.) can diced tomatoes
3 sprigs fresh chopped  thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
½ teaspoon fresh oregano leaves or ¼ teaspoon dried
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions:

1. Shell and devein the shrimp. Rinse, pat dry with paper towels and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan. Add onion and stir- fry until wilted and translucent.
3.  Add leeks, green pepper and garlic. Cook briefly, stirring. You want the vegetables to be crisp but not overcooked.
4.  Stir in tomatoes, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, lemon rind, salt and pepper, Simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring often.
5.  Add shrimp, mix well, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Add parsley and lemon juice and blend well.  Serve over couscous or favorite grain.
   Yield: 4-6 servings.

This is a quickie fix-me-up dish—with a little bit of rum spirits. Easy enough to prepare: the shrimp is stir-fried just to doneness and smothered in onions. That’s it. And it goes great with rice or crusty bread. The only time consuming part of this thing is peeling the shell from the shrimp. Today you can find shrimp already peeled and deveined. If you’re purist, like me, it will be raw shrimp that has to be deveined. To each his own. The results will still be glorious.

Now, as to the rum used. You can use any good quality rum, preferably añejo. Let it be known that, as a Boricua, I prefer Puerto Rican rum. Let me add that if you’re a teetotaler, there is no fear of imbibing alcohol. While cooking, the alcohol dissolves and only the sweetness of the rum taste remains.

CAMARONES CON CEBOLLA
(Shrimp with Onions)

Ingredients:

¾ cup olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced into rings
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 pounds raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 tablespoon rum, white or gold
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon dried tarragon
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan. Add onions and garlic, and sauté over moderate heat until onion is limp and transparent.
2.  Add shrimp, rum, lemon juice, tarragon, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly until shrimp turn pink (3 to 4 minutes).
   Yield: 4 servings.

I like clams in any iteration I can find. This recipe is one of the simplest. It’s just minced clams mixed with milk, egg, butter; and baked with bread crumbs on top. Nothing could be easier. With a crusty loaf of bread, it hits the spot.

Note that the recipe is for 2 servings. You can double the quantity for 4 or more servings.

BAKED CLAM DISH

Ingredients:

1 cup warm milk
¼  cup butter
1 beaten egg
2 (6.5 oz.) minced clams
Shake of Tabasco sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
¼ cup bread crumbs.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.  In a bowl, mix milk with butter and beaten egg.
3.  Stir in other ingredients (except bread crumbs). Transfer to a baking dish or pan (we prefer cast iron), top with bread crumbs and bake for 30 minutes.
   Yield: 2 servings.

I like to eat shrimp plain, unadorned, with no fancy sauce or ingredients; and the following recipe fits that bill. This is the way we prefer to prepare shrimp in our family. Normally, we serve the dish with rice. This time around we paired it with another Nuyorican favorite, tostones (fried green plantains). For a good recipe on how  to make tostones, see my post of 10/1016. It’s really easy to prepare these things, just like with this shrimp dish. As we say in our vernacular, disfrute (enjoy).

HERBED SHRIMP

Ingredients:

2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
¾ cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add shrimp and cook, stirring frequently, until opaque throughout, about 4 minutes.
3. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute more.
4. Season with salt, and pepper.  Stir in paprika and red wine vinegar.
5.  Top with fresh parsley and serve.
   Yield: 6-8 servings.

This dish I call Calamares Saltear or Sautéed Squid. It came about when we visited our local supermarket and discovered they had frozen cleaned squid available. In Nuyorican culture, squid is a favorite. From infancy, we are taught to appreciate it. I guess it goes back to life on the island when squid was, and is, a reliable inexpensive way to feed the family. Problem was, once you obtained the squid, you had to rinse it, cut the tentacles, remove and discard the mouth, rub off the purplish outer skin, squish out the innards, wash the inside of the body; discard the viscera, then cut into bite-sized pieces or strips. Admittedly, this is a time consuming process. Cleaned and prepared squid makes it far easier to cook the suckers.

Now, in our canon we have stewed squid (calamares guisado), stuffed squid (calamares relleno), even squid salad and sandwiches. This time I decided to prepare a simple squid sauté, easy and delicious. Served over Spanish yellow rice, it makes for a great criollo dinner.

CALAMARES SALTEAR
(Sautéed Squid)

Ingredients:

2 (10.6 oz.) cleaned and prepared frozen squid, thawed
2 cups fresh mushrooms, washed and chopped
2/3 cup cup bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried tarragon
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup water

Instructions:

1. Wash squid under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Note that that the squid, though cleaned, will come with the tentacles.  Cut the squid, inclusive of the tentacles, into  bite-sized pieces.
2. In a large bowls, combine mushrooms, bread crumbs, garlic, oregano, tarragon, egg and butter.
3.  Heat oil in a large saucepan or skillet. Add contents of bowl and stir fry for about 3 minutes. Add squid and sauté about 3 minutes more.
4.  Add wine, bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Stir everything over high heat. Add water, and cook, uncovered on moderately-low heat for 5 minutes. Serve over white or Spanish yellow rice.
   Yield: 4 servings.