Wednesday, August 23, 2006

What I Ate - Farmers Market Wednesday


I love Wednesdays because I get to shop at the Farmers Market where I work. It isn't a big one, but the produce is fresh picked from New York farms. I can usually supplement with items at the Grand Central Market and come up with a pretty good meal. Here's what I came home with today:



I tried a recipe for tomato sauce from Cooks Magazine last week with pancetta and rosemary so I still had some on hand. I figured I would recreate the recipe with a bit of a twist. Here is what I came up with.


Seared Scallops with Fresh Rosemary and Garlic Tomato Sauce

7 large sea scallops
3 large tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and coarsely chopped
5 oz pancetta, diced
1 tsp minced fresh rosemary
3 large garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp sugar, or to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Saute pancetta in a large heavy pan until browned and crisped, about 10 minutes. Remove pancetta from pan with slotted spoon and place on paper towel to drain. Pour out remaining oil.

Return pan to medium heat. Add remaining tbsp of oil. Saute garlic, rosemary, and red pepper for about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes slump and turn into sauce, about 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.

While sauce is cooking, sear scallops that have been seasoned with salt and pepper. Remove from pan. Place sauce in a shallow dish and top with scallops. Sprinkle pancetta over the top.

Heirloom Tomato and avocado Salad

Cut tomatoes and avocado. Add olive oil, the best vinegar you have, and salt and pepper to taste. That's it. The freshness of the fruits (yes both are fruits) will take care of the rest.



Here's what it looked like:


With moody lighting...


avocado and Tomato...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are your scallops on steroids?! Looks scrumptious. How did it all taste in the end? Were you happy with the results?

Jon Bowden said...

Very nice, JR! I know your cat and agree, she is a great listener. Better than your husband who, shall I say, is very fond of talking.
We will be checking often for tips on food and drinks because as you know, we're a fan too.

Anonymous said...

I liked the heirloom tomato salad, it looked wonderful! The photos are great!

JRoinNYC said...

Thanks for commenting! The scallops were huge. I even cut them in half becuase I hate when the inside of scallops aren't cooked through.