Beneath the Surface

The only way to get your hands on California rock scallops is to dive for them yourself. Or fall in love with someone who’ll scallop hunt for you.

“Diving at night is great,” my husband said. Few things freak me out more than the thought of diving, except diving in cold and total blackness. “And with a dive light, you can really see their blue eyes.”

“They have eyes?” Silence. What, everyone in the world but me knows a rock scallop has eyes? I do know that fresh rock scallops are one of the most delicious treats in the world, but you can’t buy them in a supermarket. Most of what’s on offer in the grocery store are either sea or bay scallops harvested from the East Coast.

In California, there’s no commercial harvesting of wild scallops of any kind, nor are there commercial rock scallop farms anywhere in the U.S. Though rock scallops grow in abundance in many places off the Central and Northern California coast, they aren’t easy to find because, well, they look like rocks. They grow on offshore reefs and rocky pinnacles, wrecks and oil rigs--wherever the currents are steady. They’re covered with so much other marine life that they blend in with their surroundings. One way to spot a rock scallop is by its mantle--the soft, generally orange lip that trims both edges of the shell and is visible when the scallop is open. Then there’s that row of eyes dotting the edge of the mantle. When illuminated in dark water by a beam of light, their eyes sparkle iridescent blue, making them easier to identify.

Rock scallops, like other varieties, start out as free swimmers propelling themselves along the ocean floor by snapping their two shells together. Then as juveniles, they cement themselves to the rocks, still opening and closing their shells to filter-feed. The round, cream-colored muscle that hinges the shell together is the part of the scallop we eat. All scallops spend their lives pumping up that muscle, either through swimming or feeding, which is why they’re so much meatier than oysters or clams. Rock scallops produce jumbo-sized buttons of meat. The inability of scallops to keep their shells closed is why you’ll never find a fresh scallop in its shell at the market. Out of water, a scallop quickly loses moisture and dies, so on commercial scallop boats they’re immediately shucked and iced.

If you’re lucky enough to be hauling up your own catch--by law, each person is allowed 10 scallops per day--clean them as soon as possible. Insert a long, thin knife anywhere the shell is slightly open, slice through the muscle and pull the shell apart. Separate the unwanted innards from the meat, separate the button of meat from each side of the shell, and rinse well with fresh water. If you can’t take the suspense any longer, go ahead and eat them raw. Fresh rock scallops are sweet, almost nutty, and not fishy-tasting at all. They couldn’t taste better if I caught them myself. Which, of course, is never going to happen.

Fresh Rock Scallops with Black Bean & Cantaloupe Salsa

Serve 4-5 as a main course

10 fresh rock scallops or sea scallops

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons olive oil

sea salt and fresh pepper

Salsa

1 cup cooked or canned whole black beans

1 very ripe cantaloupe, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced small

1/2 green pepper, diced small

3/4 canned pineapple juice

1/2 red onion sliced paper thin

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon ground cumin

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Make the salsa first. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour or more.

Combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and gently toss with the scallops.

Over a hot fire, cook the scallops in a grill basket, browning one side for a few minutes, then the other. Don’t overcook! Pan frying works okay, too.

Serve immediately on a bed of salsa.