Excerpt from Vital Choice Wild Seafood & Organics
This scrumptious, light-yet-satisfying winter recipe was adapted from The New York Times – you’ll be amazed at how full of flavor such a simple preparation can be.
My version calls for broccolini (or baby broccoli as it was called at my market), but you can easily substitute almost any other green vegetable: broccoli rabe, asparagus or even kale or Swiss chard.
Despite the misnomer, broccolini isn’t really baby broccoli – it’s a hybrid of broccoli and Chinese broccoli. It’s very tender, rich in vitamin C and also provides vitamin A, calcium, folic acid and iron!
I love broccolini because it takes very little prep – the spears are so thin and tender that they don’t require a great deal of trimming or breaking up like broccoli crowns, and they look beautiful on the plate.
I added Wild Atlantic Sea Scallops to the original preparation because I happened to have ½ pound in the freezer, but this recipe would be delightful simply made with Pacific Spot Prawns.
The pairing of prawns and scallops provides a wonderful mix of textures and flavors. If you happen to have both on hand, you won’t be disappointed.
I was able to do all of the prep for this simple meal while the oven preheated, including peeling and deveining the prawns. You’ll love how quick this is, and the addition of orange zest lends a surprising pop of brightness.
A few notes for the cook
Be sure to take your scallops and prawns out to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. If you haven’t worked with prawns before, here are a few helpful tips.
I highly recommend you wear gloves when peeling the prawns. The raw shells can be sharp, and I’ve gotten a few little paper cuts in the past from them.
Here’s the easiest way to prepare the prawns: Wearing gloves, remove them from their packaging and run them quickly under cold water, just enough to rinse off any remaining ice.
To remove the shell, use kitchen shears to snip from the base toward the tail end, gently prying the flesh out of the shell and deveining if you like (many of the prawns I cooked didn’t need to be deveined).
You can leave the tails on for presentation purposes or remove them as you remove the shell – your choice.
Roasted Prawns & Scallops with Broccolini
Makes 2 servings, easily halved
1 pound broccolini (sometimes called baby broccoli)
2 tablespoons cooking oil of choice
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
12 ounces (1 tray) thawed Vital Choice Pacific Spot Prawns, peeled and deveined
½ pound thawed Vital Choice Wild Atlantic Sea Scallops
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Trim the ends of the broccolini (if needed) and toss with 1 tablespoon cooking oil (I used olive oil), sesame oil, 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes and salt. Set aside.
Peel and devein the prawns, then toss gently with thawed scallops, 1 tablespoon cooking oil, orange zest, remaining red pepper flakes and salt to taste.
Arrange broccolini in bottom of a large roasting pan, then layer prawns and scallops on top of the greens.
Roast for 10 minutes, turning once, just until the prawns are pink and the scallops are cooked through.
Serve with an orange wedge if you like and enjoy!
Adapted from content initially published by Vital Choice Wild Seafood & Organics.