I absolutely LOVE to cook, nothing better than cooking a meal for my friends or even better yet, to make dinner for my date (although I seem to be going on a long drought lately lol). Anyway here is a dish I made for my friends last time I visited them, I was nervous at first never having worked with seafood (besides fish), but it came out great! Hope you like it enjoy! (btw clarification, this isn't my recipe, I did not invent this dish, but I wish I did
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Venetian Shrimp and Scallops:
1 pound sea scallops
1/4 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 tablespoon (1 turn around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth or stock
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
12 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn
1 lemon, zested
Lightly coat the sea scallops in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Discard remaining flour.
Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil (1 turn around the pan) and butter. When butter melts into oil, add scallops. Brown scallops 2 minutes on each side, then remove from pan.
Add an additional drizzle of olive oil to the pan and add the garlic, shallots, and crushed red pepper flakes. Reduce heat a little and saute garlic and shallots 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine to the pan and free up any pan drippings. Reduce wine 1 minute, then add stock, tomatoes and saffron threads. When liquids come to a bubble, add shrimp and cook 3 minutes. Return scallops to the pan and cook shrimp and scallops 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer shrimp and scallops to a warm serving dish and top with basil and lemon zest. Pass plenty of bread to enjoy the juices.
Oh and for dessert, something that I found goes very well with this is a lemon sorbet with fresh berries. Enjoy everyone!