This week’s What’s for Dinner comes from Joel Brown. Joel is a Newburyport resident and frequent contributor to the Boston Globe, he blogs at HubArts.com.
Joel writes, “This improv came out really good last night. I was kind of surprised the favas I got atTendercrop Farm came out of the pods so small – like baby peas – but it meant I didn’t have to cooked them ahead. I got the corn at Tendercrop too, the scallops at David’s, the pancetta at Joppa.”
He adds, “I didn’t pull it out of thin air – found a few recipes on-line with combos of scallops, mint and favas, sometimes bacon.”
We really like Joel’s real life / real time approach to cooking. If the photos are any indication, the the “improv” worked!
Ingredients:
(For one hungry person, amounts very much guesstimates)
1/3 lb uncooked Orzo
A quarter-inch thick slice of pancetta
1 T Olive oil
Half a dozen big sea scallops
Two small ears of sweet corn
Tiny fava beans (from maybe half a pound in the shell)
1/2 cup Dry white wine
1/2 cup Chicken broth
Half a dozen mint leaves
- Cooked orzo (1/3 box) till not quite done and drained it
- Chopped up a quarter-inch thick slice of pancetta small
- Browned it with just a little bit of olive oil to get it started
- Added half a dozen big sea scallops and browned them on both sides
- Added raw sweet corn kernels (cut from two small ears) and little tiny fava beans
from the farmstand and let them cook a moment or two - Added half a glass of white wine and stirred up brown bits from bottom of pan
- When wine had almost evaporated, added a similar amount of chicken broth
- Stirred in a few chopped mint leaves from my garden and the orzo
Served with a glass of Sole Beech NZ Sauvignon Blanc from Leary’s
