Summer Squash Carpaccio with Seafood Squid Ink Spaghetti

Are your neighbor’s locking the doors and pulling the curtains tight when you come over with a pretty basket (dirty crate) of summer squash? Are you trying to pawn off five-pound zucchinis on vegetarians “suggesting” they use your hefty green overgrown tasteless logs to stuff and bake? Yes, I understand. I too used to grow summer squash. And for this very reason now I don’t because I simply can’t take the rejection (I say with kerchief in hand, dabbing tears as they roll down my cheek.)

Yup, it’s that time of year again when everyone needs to figure out what to do with squash. Strangely enough, because I’m breast feeding my little baby Hettie Rose, I crave zucchini like nobody’s business. I have no idea why. But it’s a mighty powerful craving. I literally made my husband go find the nearest farmer’s market and get me some summer squash this last week! During pregnancy I had absolutely no cravings – go figure.

This is going to sound really boring, but one of the best ways to cook zucchini and keep their fresh look and flavor, is to cut it thin, salt lightly and zap in the microwave. I know, I said it: mi-cro-wave. Do you know that even at Le Bernardin we zap stuffed zucchini flowers with mini courgettes attached in the microwave with a little butter overtop? Why? Well, because zucchini is delicate! Yes, a microwave can be great for quickly cooking/steaming veg.

I love squid ink pasta, and I enjoy making it from scratch too but cuttlefish ink is messy and it stains and I have a 3-year old and a 6-month old and I’m just not that cool I guess. Layla would love to make this, but I have to establish major trust before I let her open a jar of black ink. Does the squid ink give a lot of flavor to the pasta? I’m going to say: no. Maybe others will argue with me, but no, I find it’s more about the color. If you want to make it from scratch I really like this recipe from Love and Olive Oil.

So, by this point you’ve realized that this is an easy recipe. YES! It is! Isn’t that wonderful? But, at the same time, it’s about quality of ingredients right? The sea scallops I used were fresh – a rarity to find in markets in Northern California. And, the shrimp were wild and enormous. The squash was just picked and the pasta was artisanal.

Let’s discuss how to cook scallops. Are you still cutting hatch marks across the top and searing them thinking that design is oh-so-cool? You are? Okay, you need to stop doing that. It’s out. When I see that I cringe. The same way when I see duck breast fat cut all criss-cross I want to send it back to the kitchen or throw it at the chef. You just aren’t going to get a better sear by doing it so STOP IT!

The best way to cook big ol’ fat fresh sea scallops is to sear them on high heat on a non-stick surface with a little olive oil along their edges. That’s right, not on their faces but on their edges. What I do is I stack all the scallops I’m using together and make a cylinder and then slowly roll them on their edges on the non-stick lightly oiled surface, allowing them to brown and sear on all sides. This will give you a perfect medium rare.

Shrimp you just throw in the pan with a little olive oil and sear. Don’t over cook those little guys though.

So what else is in the recipe? The pan you just seared the seafood in you’re not going to clean. Instead add some more olive oil and sauté a little minced garlic, then deglaze with white wine, add some cream and toss your barely al-dente spaghetti into the mix and give it a few up and down sauté shakes to coat through.

Next: throw in some Parmesan and again flip the pasta around in the pan to coat. The Parm will tighten up the sauce quickly. Season with salt. Twirl that gorgeous squid ink pasta into a cone with your tongs and place that heaping black pile of deliciousness on the just-microwaved zucchini carpaccio. Put a scallop on the plate and a large shrimp. Dust your pasta with some fried bread crumbs, a little chopped parsley and a few chili flakes. Give your whole plate a squeeze of fresh lemon, a scattering of finely chopped chives and send it on out to your family!

Done. Easy meal. 20 minutes max. Seriously!

Carpaccio of Summer Squash with Shrimp & Scallop Squid Ink Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 4 U-10 Fresh Sea Scallops (those are big)
• 4 extra large wild prawns, shelled and deveined but keep the tail
• 1 lb squid ink spaghetti, cooked al dente
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/4 cup Parmesan with more as needed
• Panko crumbs, fried in a little olive oil
• Parsley, finely chopped
• Red chili flake
• A few small summer squashes of different colors finely sliced on a mandolin
• Lemon and finely chopped chives to garnish

 

Arrange summer squash slices artfully across four plates. Season lightly with sea salt and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before microwaving (which should be done as close to plating as possible). The salt will "cook" the squash a little. 

Sear the big ol' fat fresh sea scallops on high heat in a non-stick skillet with a little olive oil, along their edges. That's right, not on their faces but on their edges. What I do is I stack all the scallops I'm using together and make a cylinder and then slowly roll them on their edges in the lightly oiled skillet, allowing them to brown and sear on all sides. This will give you a perfect medium rare. Remove to a plate and keep warm. Add a little more olive oil and sear the shrimp for two minutes. Remove to the same plate. 

In the pan you just seared the seafood in (don't clean it) add another tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the minced garlic until just lightly browned (I truly hate burnt garlic, the smel is terrible and the taste bitter), then deglaze with white wine and allow to boil and reduce by half. Add the cream and toss your barely al-dente spaghetti into the mix and give it a few up and down sauté shakes to coat and warm through.

Throw in the Parmesan and again flip the pasta around in the pan to coat. The Parm will tighten up the sauce quickly. Season with salt. Twirl that gorgeous squid ink pasta into a cone with your tongs and place that heaping black pile of deliciousness on the just-microwaved zucchini carpaccio. Put a scallop on the plate and a large shrimp.

Dust your pasta with some fried bread crumbs, a little chopped parsley and a few chili flakes. Give your whole plate a squeeze of fresh lemon, a scattering of finely chopped chives and send it on out to your family!