When you live on an Island like we do here in Fernandina Beach, Florida, this recipe for a seafood salad from Jay’s Marketplace comes in handy. Easy to modify with what you caught today or what is seasonally found at the seafood counter
at the foot of Ash Street here on Amelia Island, you will love this recipe:
Ingredients
-1 pound cooked crawfish tails (if available)
-1 pound steamer clams
-1 pound medium shrimp
-1 pound squid
-1/2 pound bay or sea scallops
-2 pounds mussels, the smaller the better
-1/4 cup of White Wine
-2 Tablespoons of water
-1/2 cup lemon juice
-10 fresh basil leaves
-1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
-A generous amount of Jay’s Muffuletta Salad
How to Build the Seafood Salad
Leave the shells on the shrimp. Devein by cutting along the outside curve of the shell. Rinse under cold running water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the shrimp and cook just until opaque, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain. Let cool. Discard the shells.
To clean the squid, carefully pull the head and tentacles from the body sac. Cut the tentacles above the eyes. Pop out the little ball or beak in the center of the tentacles. Discard it and the innards. Pull out the quill-shaped bone in the body sac and discard. Peel off the skin. Thoroughly rinse the interior of the body and the tentacles. Drain. Cook in the same way as the shrimp. After 20 minutes, test for tenderness. Drain. Cut crosswise into rings. Cut the tentacles in half if large.
Leave bay scallops whole; cut sea scallops into squares. Repeat cooking procedure as for the shrimp and squid. Check after 2 or 3 minutes. They should be barley opaque at the center. Drain and let cool.
Scrub the mussels and clams well under cold running water. Remove all traces of grit and slime. The mussels in the shell will be used in the salad. Remove the beard by tugging hard at it until it breaks free from the shell. Discard any shells that are open or cracked. Place in a wide-bottomed pan. Add a few tablespoons of water and about a quarter cup of white wine. Cover and cook over high heat, shaking the pan while cooking to redistribute the mussels. When the mussels open, remove from the pan and let cool.
To assemble the salad, combine the seafood with a generous amount of Jay’s Muffuletta Salad and lemon juice. Tear the basil leaves into pieces and add to the salad. Toss gently. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and marinate for 2 hours. If refrigerated, bring to room temperature before serving. Garnish with lemon slices.
Serves 4 to 6.
This recipe is courtesy of Fernandina Beach’s farmers’ market vendor: Jay’s Marketplace.
Copyright© 2006 Jaysmarketplace.com
