Scalloping

My Dad and Mom went scalloping with their friends the other weekend. Thanks to my parents' support for their crazy daughter who blogs about food, they created a post for me. I think they secretly enjoyed putting it together!

Here is what they had to say:

It is like an adult Easter Egg Hunter under water. A scallop is a fan shaped shell creature found in oceans the world over. You search for them to harvest the muscle that holds the two sides of the shell together as they make a scrumptious meal.

We scalloped in the shallow edge waters of the Gulf near Steinhatchee, Florida... this is “old” Florida. You feel what it must have been like for the Olds, Vanderbilt and Astor families as they began wintering in Florida. We stayed in a beautiful 3 bedroom cottage at Steinhatchee Landing.

To be legal, a Florida saltwater fishing license for $17.50 is required as well as hunting in season (July 1 – Sept 10). Some areas are banned due to “over scalloping”. Waters were two to four feet deep and the bottom was mix of sand and sea grasses. We arrived at our happy hunting ground by boat supplied by Captain Jim and Cindy Seletos.

Using a mask, fins and snorkel, you float lazily around looking for scallops just inches above the sand or sea grass, collecting them in a mesh bag. You periodically return to the boat to deposit your catch and swill down the libation of your choice.

Those who don’t get in the water find themselves in the boat cleaning the scallops. This is done with a spoon used to pry the scallop open followed by scraping the inside to loosen and discard a bunch of yuckie stuff. The muscle is collected and the shells go back into the water to become beach sand in a couple of million years.

It took about 6 hours for 8 adults to collect and clean scallops yielding 64 oz., the limit for our boat. It might have been a thousand scallops. The more you clean the larger the number gets. While the scallop is about 1.5-2 inches in diameter, the harvested scallop muscle is slightly smaller than the size of a piece of double bubble gum.

The collection process is extremely relaxing but remember your sunscreen or your will become a lobster! Relaxing is aided by the fact that cell phones rarely work there! We cooked our harvest the following day.

Scallop Recipe:

Just sautée the scallops in some olive oil, minced garlic, sea salt and ground pepper for approximately 5 minutes. Once cooked, remove the scallops from the pan. To the liquid in the pan, add white wine, a bit of half and half and a cornstarch/water mixture to thicken the sauce. Return the scallops to the pan. Color with some chopped parsley. Ladle over al dente linguini along with a green or tomato salad. Quantities of white wine of choice should also accompany… helping with digestion or mental acuity I am sure!