Courtney's Shellfish with (not) Too Much Sauce

Felt like some shellfish, needed to use up some of the very last veggies from last year's Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) before this year's starts up this Saturday, and also felt like some comfort food. So made some shrimp and sea scallops with what seemed like too much sauce (see eating notes below). The picture shown above is served with the zucchini (see cooking notes)

Recipe
(generously serves 2)

10 16-20 count shrimp, cleaned to taste*
6 large sea scallops
1 10 oz jar clam juice
3 - 5 generous sprigs parsley
water to cover shellfish
2 T ghee
2 fresh garlic shoots, stem and bulb, sliced thin
2 T flour
2 roasted red peppers (jarred), diced
juice of 1 Meyer Lemon
1 T dijon mustard (I use Grey Poupon)
2 T heavy cream (I used the plug of cream off an unopened bottle of unhomogeonized milk)
* I like the texture of shrimp shells so I leave them on. On the other hand, I have textural issues with the legs so I take them off and give the cats a treat. It's purely a matter of choice whether or not to shell the shrimp before you make this dish.


Bring the clam juice to a boil with the parsley in it and, in a separate kettle, bring water to heat. When the clam juice boils, add the shrimp and scallops and just enough water from the kettle to cover. Poach the scallops and shrimp 3 - 5 min or until just barely done (they will continue to cook after removing and later when the hot sauce is added) and remove to a bowl. Reserve the cooking juice.

Heat the ghee.

Mix the lemon juice, mustard, cream, and red peppers in a small bowl.

When the ghee is hot, add the chopped fresh garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the flour, stirring continously.

When the mixture has browned slightly, add 1 cup of the cooking juice, slowly, stirring all the while. When this is strongly bubbling, add the lemon juice, mustard, cream, and red pepper mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Continue stirring constantly while sauce bubbles and reduces. It should be at a strong bubble but not an urgent boil.

While the sauce is reducing, plate the shellfish.

Once the sauce has reduced to the consistency that pleases you, pour it over the shellfish. Serve hot. If you made too much sauce, be sure to get a spoon.

Cooking Notes: The recipe made about a cup of sauce. When poured over the veggies and shellfish, it seemed like far too much, but we had no problem eating every last bit. So if people are game, why not? Otherwise, save half of the sauce for tomorrow's lunch or dinner.

For the zucchini, it was parboiled and frozen last year, so all that was required was to drop the vacuum bag in boiling water for 6 min or so.

Eating Notes: There was no complaint about having to use a spoon for this sauce. It was good and rich but not overbearing, and the inclusion of the roasted red pepper and fresh garlic made it like its own little component of the meal, rather than "just" a sauce.