Shrimp And Clams A La Plancha Recipes

THAI SHRIMP AND CLAM CURRY

Steps:

• Heat peanut oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and red bell pepper; saute until softened, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add ginger and garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in red chile paste and coconut milk. Add the clams and simmer until flavors combine, 3 to 5 minutes. If curry appears too thick, stir in chicken broth.
• Finely grate zest from the lime. Stir half of the zest into the curry along with fish sauce and brown sugar. Squeeze some lime juice into the curry. Stir in half of the basil and shrimp; simmer curry until shrimp are opaque and cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes. Thin the curry with more chicken broth if needed.
• Scoop clams out of the curry, draining their juice back into the saucepan, and discard. Mix in remaining lime zest and basil before serving.

SHRIMP AND CLAMS A LA PLANCHA

Steps:

• Melt butter with oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, about 1 minute. Add shrimp and thyme. Season with salt and pepper; cook until shells change color and start to peel away from shrimp, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer shrimp to a plate.
• Add sherry to skillet; increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, 1 minute. Add clams. Cover with a lid or foil and cook until clams open, about 5 minutes. Discard any unopened clams. Return shrimp to skillet just to reheat. Serve, with beans and some of their broth, a drizzle of oil, pepper, romesco, and greens.

SHRIMP A LA PLANXA

Steps:

• Starting at the thick end of each shrimp, remove 1inch of shell and make a 1inch slit down the exposed flesh. Heat a clean griddle or skillet and wipe down with an oiled cloth. Sprinkle the shrimp with the salt and place on the hot oiled skillet to cook 1 minute. Turn and continue on second side. Finish cooking the shrimp by placing each on the slit end for 1 minute. Serve with the lemon wedges.

SCALLOPS A LA PLANCHA

Steps:

• Toss the scallops and the garlic on a plate and drizzle with the oil and vinegar; sprinkle with salt and pepper and turn over a couple of times. Go about your business for 5 minutes.
• Preheat a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over high heat. When the skillet smokes-this will take a couple of minutes-add the scallops (leave the liquid behind), not all at once. By the time you've added the last scallop, the first one will probably be browned on one side, so begin turning them. Cook until brown on both sides but still rare in the center. (You must work more quickly with bay scallops-add them a few at a time and turn them quickly; you may even have to work in batches to keep them from overcooking.)
• Serve, drizzled with the juices from the plate and garnished with the parsley.
• Variations
• Shrimp or Squid a la Plancha: This technique works perfectly with both shrimp and squid. Keep the cooking time especially short for squid or it will get tough.
• Another option is to vary the kind of oil, vinegar, seasoning, and garnish as you like. For example, use peanut oil with scallions and peeled fresh ginger, then garnish with a drizzle of soy sauce or fresh cilantro for a completely different take.
• Scallops
• A word about buying scallops: Many are dipped in a chemical solution to prolong their shelf life. Not coincidentally, this soaking causes them to absorb water, which increases their weight and-water being cheaper than scallops-decreases their value. Furthermore, the added water makes browning more difficult. You can recognize processed scallops by their stark white color; in addition, they are usually sitting in liquid at the store. Buy dry, beige (or slightly pink or orange) scallops from a reliable fishmonger and you won't have a problem.
• Many cooks remove the tough little hinge present on one side of most scallops before cooking. But when you're stuffing scallops, leave it on and cut from the side directly opposite. The hinge will then serve the purpose of holding the scallop together and can be removed at the table or eaten; it's slightly tough, but not unpleasant.

RAZOR CLAMS A LA PLANCHA

Steps:

• Heat a griddle until very hot.
• Add a little olive oil and a single layer of clams, hinge-side down.
• Once the clams have opened fully, turn them over so the meat is in contact with the griddle. (I find that some of the clams will fall out of the shells, so I remove the shells to the serving plate, giving me more room on the griddle).
• Heat for 1 minute, until lightly browned.
• Arrange on a warmed serving plate, drizzle on a little more oil and any juices remaining on the griddle.
• Repeat for any remaining clams.
• Serve with lemon wedges if desired.

CALAMARES A LA PLANCHA

Steps:

• Clean the squid, removing the outer purplish skin by rubbing under cold water. Reserve tentacles.
• Combine 3 tablespoons oil, the parsley and garlic with salt and pepper to taste in a bowl.
• Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil over high heat in frying pan. Cook squid in batches, 2-3 minutes each, then cook tentacles, about 1 minute.
• Serve squid very hot, drizzled with the parsley-garlic mixture.