Scallops in Smoked Sauce
Fry the scallops on a mixture of butter and olive oil. I mix these two fats because of the aroma of olive oil, but also because the butter will raise the temperature to which the olive oil can go without much loss of nutrients or taste. When the scallops turn satin white, then they are done, which means that they will melt beautifully in your mouth while releasing their full flavor. The fullness of the flavor will be highlighted by the incredibly simple and fresh hollandaise sauce you will pour over the shellfish and the side.
Mix three egg yolks, one tablespoon of lemon juice, half a teaspoon of salt, one eighth of a teaspoon of chipotle and powdered habanero smoked paprika with a hand mixer until the mixture is light. Then reduce the mixer to the minimum speed and mix in the warm, but not hot!, butter (about 150 g) lightly. Keep mixing until everything is blended and that’s it. Pour over the scallops and the wild asparagus toasted in a grill pan and boiled potatoes.
Velvety Venus Clams
In a smaller pot, heat 375 ml of fish stock. In a second pot, melt two tablespoons of butter and then add two tablespoons of flour, season with a bit of salt and mix until golden brown. Now, gradually add the fish stock to it, stirring with a whisk. Turn up the heat and when it boils, reduce it and then simmer until the sauce thickens, which can be between five and ten minutes.
Congratulations, your first real veloute (read: velvety) sauce is done. Pour the sauce over the rice cooked with butter, onto which you have lined up the clams, steam-cooked just enough to make them open. Instead of rice, you could also use the excellent pljukanci which will even highlight the velvety sauce even more. As a bonus, grate a bit of truffle on top.
Ruddy Mussels
Cook the washed and dried mussels on a grapevine grill or in a grill pan. When done, drizzle with an olive oil, Malvasia, chopped garlic and parsley marinade. While the mussels are being grilled, prepare the tomato cream. On two tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon of butter, fry a sprig of rosemary and two cloves of sliced garlic, until it turns yellow. Then remove the garlic and the rosemary, add 400 ml of pureed tomato paste, salt and pepper.
Cook until the water evaporates and the sauce thickens, then stir in 125 ml of cream and season with salt to taste. Pour the sauce over the al dente tagliatella and top with the hot, marinated mussels.
