Grilled Shrimp and Scallops on a Bed of Arugula and Sliced Peaches

It always amazes me how just a few ingredients can come together and create an amazing bouquet of flavor.  And it is especially fun when it happens due to a “what I have on hand” situation. This particular meal got its start by The Fish Lady (Globe Fish at the Wakefield Farmers Market) having only 1/2 pound of shrimp left by the time I stopped by to shop, so, along with the shrimp, I got 1/2 pound scallops.

The week before, I found and used a really lovely marinade for shrimp to be grilled in their shell.  By the way, grilling in the shell does make for some great flavor!  But this week, I figured I’d peel the shrimp since it would be grilled with the scallops and, as much as I love the flavor of shrimp and scallop on their own, I thought this would be a good time to try adding a bit stronger flavor.

As usual, the Internet came to the rescue with a great glaze recipe that conveniently called for the exact 1/2 pound each of shrimp and scallops that I had purchased. I followed it exactly except for substituting lemon juice and zest for the lime because I didn’t feel like going to Farmland for just a lime!

Grilled Shrimp and Scallops With Lime-Ginger Glaze

• 1/2 pound fresh shrimp (de-shelled and de-veined)
• 1/2 pound fresh scallops
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup (about 2 limes) fresh lime juice *
• Zest from 1/2 lime *
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 inch piece of fresh ginger
• skewers

1. Peel the fresh ginger by scraping it with the edge of a spoon and then grate or mince.  I like to grate the ginger using a micro-planer.  We need about 1 tablespoon of finely minced ginger.
2.     Mix the honey, soy, ginger, lime juice and zest in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
3.     Simmer the lime, soy and ginger under low heat for about 10 minutes to reduce to a glaze.
4.     Preheat the grill to high heat and clean and oil the grates (important to lube up the grates, we don’t want to have to pry off one of those beautiful shellfish!).
5.     Skewer the shrimp and scallops.
6.     Place the shrimp and scallop skewers over high heat and grill with the lid open for about 2 or 3 minutes.
7.     Flip the skewers over to the other side and baste the shrimp and scallops with the soy, lime and ginger glaze.
8.     Grill for another 3 minutes on the other side and then flip the skewers over.
9.     Brush the other side with the glaze and then remove the skewers from the grill.  We just want to hit the other side with the glaze, but don’t let them grill too long on the “glazed” side or the honey will burn.

* On the advice I found online, I added just a bit more lemon juice and zest than the amount of lime called for in the recipe and it worked beautifully.  However, I intend to try this with the lime next time to get the full effect.  🙂

Once I determined the flavoring for the seafood, I realized that my original plan of using some just picked tomatoes (from Farmer Dave at our farmers market) would not work, although I was determined to use some of the wonderful arugula I had also gotten at our market that morning from Flats Mentor Farm.

I knew I needed sweet and a bit of tang to go with the glaze and had an AHA! moment when my eyes lit upon the fresh, peaches at perfect ripeness I has also gotten from Farmer Dave that morning.

While the glaze was simmering, I rinsed and spun dry the arugula, sliced up some peaches, and put them together, adding a very light sprinkling of lemon juice, rice vinegar, and some freshly ground black pepper.  I meant to add some olive oil but – oh well!  Maybe next time.  <grin> Actually, now that I think of it, olive oil would be too strong a flavor.  Perhaps some canola oil would be nice.

Once the seafood was off the grill, I put some salad on our plates and topped with the shrimp and scallops.

To really top it off, while preparing the meal I had just happened to have a glass of Three Sisters White Wine from Charlton Orchards that I had purchased at the market the week before …I t was the PERFECT beverage to accompany!

This was truly an exquisite meal, light but satisfying, perfect for a hot summer evening. And so easy! It just doesn’t get much better than this!