Scallop Home

A lot of us spend hours preparing for dinner guests: getting the house clean, setting the table and, of course, cooking.

To lighten the load, make the main course an easy one. Scallops require little preparation and they cook quickly, making an elegant meal with minimum effort on the cook’s part.

Now, if there were a way to prepare your house for dinner guests in 30 minutes or less, that really would be something.

MENU 30 MINUTES OR LESS

Spicy Scallop Skewers

Green Onion Couscous

Lemon Sorbet With Raspberries

SPICY SCALLOP SKEWERS

24 large scallops

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons Creole or Cajun spice mix

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons Asian chile sauce

The scallops can also be cooked on an outside grill.

Soak wooden skewers in water to cover 15 minutes before grilling. Rinse and dry scallops.

Combine soy sauce, lemon juice, orange juice and zest, sesame oil, canola oil, spice mix, garlic and chile sauce in medium bowl. Add scallops and marinate 15 minutes.

Thread 6 scallops on each of 4 soaked skewers. Cook on heated grill pan over medium-high heat 2 minutes. Turn skewers and cook until scallops are just cooked through and opaque, about 2 more minutes.

4 servings. Each serving:

278 calories; 485 mg sodium; 30 mg cholesterol; 22 grams fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 16 grams protein; 0.05 gram fiber.

GREEN ONION COUSCOUS (LOW-FAT COOKING)

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 1/3 cups couscous

3 green onions, finely chopped

Bring chicken stock to boil over medium-high heat. Stir in couscous and green onions. Cover and remove from heat. Let sit 5 minutes. Fluff with fork before serving.

4 servings. Each serving:

83 calories; 294 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.12 gram fiber.

Countdown

25 minutes before: Wash and dry scallops. Grate orange zest. Soak wooden skewers.

20 minutes before: Prepare marinade and begin marinating scallops.

15 minutes before: Chop green onions. Wash raspberries for dessert.

7 minutes before: Begin heating grill pan. Make couscous.

5 minutes before: Skewer and grill scallops.

After dinner: Spoon sorbet into bowls and top with raspberries.

INGREDIENTS

Shopping List

1 (10-ounce) box couscous

1/2 pint raspberries

24 large scallops

1 pint lemon sorbet

1 (8-ounce) package Cajun or Creole spice mix

Staples

Asian chile sauce

Garlic

Lemons

Canola oil

Toasted sesame oil

Green onions

Oranges

Low-sodium soy sauce

Chicken stock

* Plate from Pottery Shack, Laguna Beach; Sabre flatware from Nantucket Cottage, Ventura.