Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Spaghetti with scallops, sundried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts



Some random observations about Boston vs. San Diego, now that I've had a chance to go grocery shopping in Boston:

1. Booze is way, WAY more expensive.
2. But seafood is fresh, abundant, and cheap.
3. Bacon is more expensive.
4. Lemons and limes are more expensive. (Duh.)
5. But gas is cheaper, by about 40 cents a gallon.
6. Still can't find grits.

Naturally the first thing I did upon entering a Boston-area grocery store was head straight for the seafood counter, whereupon I bought three pounds of shell-on crawfish and a pound of fresh bay scallops. Our first dinner in Massachusetts was spaghetti with bay scallops, sundried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts.

Ingredients:
spaghetti
1 lb bay scallops
two handfuls chopped sundried tomatoes
four handfuls chopped fresh roma tomatoes
one handful pine nuts, toasted
one handful chopped fresh parsley
parmesan cheese
olive oil
1 chopped onion
a few chopped garlic cloves

Cook the spaghetti. Toast the pine nuts in the oven. Meanwhile, saute the onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Add tomatoes (all) and cook down for a few minutes. Add the scallops, with juice, and immediately turn off the heat. Drain the spaghetti, and pour about half or 3/4 cup of the cooking water into the skillet with the scallops. Add the spaghetti and parsley, and mix well. Serve with parmesan and a sprinkling of good salt.

3 comments:

  1. I would love to know where you found cheap scallops - I live in the Boston area and the cheapest I've been able to find them is $11.99/lb! Please share where you found them~
    Monica

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  2. yum!

    Whole Foods should have grits in the bulk section and in the grains by the bag (there is at least one brand available nationally). I get them in the midwest, so they should be in the much larger Boston stores.

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  3. Check out liquor prices in New Hampshire...still higher than CA, but better than Boston. Or at least they were a few years back.

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