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Suggestions for somehing I want to try?

post #1 of 24
9/14/09 at 12:55am
Thread Starter 
I'd appreciate suggestions for this.

I'm going to use juice from fresh lemons to make some semolina pasta. The lemon juice will be the liquid I use for the pasta dough.

I plan on making thin noodles using my Atlas hand-cranked machine. I want to make a dish with scallops, butter, garlic and probably some flat (Italian) parsley. I am thinking that cooking the noodles in a stir-fry method would be good, with a little water added. I want the scallops to turn out just right, too.

Any advice on a cooking method, or ingredients that would go especially well with it?
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post #2 of 24
9/14/09 at 5:04am
Yeti,

It sounds great ! Were you looking for a sauce to serve under the scallops ? or a sauce for the pasta ?

Petals
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post #3 of 24
9/14/09 at 6:03am
Be a little careful, as the citric acid in the juice may alter the outcome of the pasta. in some recipes for doughs vinegar or acid is added to keep dough soft and pliable. First batch don't make much, then if it works go for it.:chef:
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post #4 of 24
9/14/09 at 8:34am
I agree with Ed. I wrinkled my nose a bit at the thought of lemon juice in pasta dough. However, it might also be a great new discovery.

What immediately comes to mind is that scallops put out a good amount of liquid. I'd wash, dry, oil, salt and pepper the scallops and saute in a very hot pan. Cook the scallop 75% on the first side, watching the coagulation of proteins, as the scallop goes from grey to white. When this has happened 75% of the way, flip them over. The reason for 75/25 is that you get to watch the changes in the scallop. If you flip it over immediately, you're just looking at a brown scallop. Leave it as long as possible on one side to get that great caramelization of sugars and plate appeal. Then, finish quickly on the other side.

The rest of the ingredients you mention sound like a great saute dish. Get the pan hot, a little bit of butter, add seafood, add aromatics, deglaze the pan with a flavorful liquid, reduce by 1/2, and mount with soft cheese like ricotta, marscapone, or chevre. Add some parmesan, and you've got a quick Alfredo-type dish from your one saute pan.

It sounds like an inspiration in the making.
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post #5 of 24
9/14/09 at 2:01pm
Thread Starter 
Just any suggestions for sauce or other ingredients.

I think I will try the noodles with just some butter and parmesan, first, and see how they come out.

Thanks for the suggestions:D
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post #6 of 24
9/14/09 at 6:43pm
Thread Starter 
If the noodles are a success I will definitely try this:bounce:
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post #7 of 24
9/15/09 at 6:33am
Hmmm...sounds good.

You could also try to get that lemon flavor in the pasta by adding some lemon zest to the dough. Then reserve the the lemon juice for the sauce or to finish over the pasta after it's plated.

dan
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post #8 of 24
9/15/09 at 6:46am
Yeti,


I really enjoyed ChefToddMohr's idea for the scallops.

I have a simple , no frill sauce for scallops I use alot.

2 1/2 lbs. sea scallops
4 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. flour
2 tbsp. chopped shallots
1 tbsp. chopped garlic
3/4 c. white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 c. fish stock
1/2 c. cooking cream
Salt and pepper to taste


Lightly flour the sea scallops. In a large skillet, melt the butter and add the scallops, garlic and shallots. Let cook for a few seconds. Deglaze with the white wine and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and remove the scallops with a slotted spoon onto a platter. Add fish stock and cream. Reduce the sauce to the right consistency and adjust seasoning again. Put the scallops back into the sauce to warm up. Serve immediately.

This sauce is easy to make and takes all of ten minutes. If you would like a Burgundy wine sauce , just replace white wine for red wine. To add some color to your dish you can always serve it with asperagus, there are very many colorful vegetables at this time of year.

Petals
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post #9 of 24
9/15/09 at 2:17pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, Dan and Petals :D
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post #10 of 24
9/15/09 at 7:22pm
Lemon juice/citric acid will break up gluten strands in your pasta dough though the amounts you can reasonably add in pasta are minimal.
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post #11 of 24
9/15/09 at 8:12pm
Thread Starter 
I've made a lot of fresh pasta but never with lemon juice. I like the firm texture of semolina pasta. I haven't tried this yet but I suspect it's a bad idea to use lemon juice for the pasta dough. Gonefishin made a good alternate suggestion for the pasta. Others have made dang good suggestions for the dish. I haven't started working on this yet but i surely will soon.

One thing that sucks is that I've been in this apartment almost 2 months and haven't unpacked my stuff. I lost my job the day after I signed papers to rent this place, so i haven't done any real cooking here because I want the cleanup to be easy if I have to move again.

This thread is keeping me going, and I definitely will do some experimenting when I have a secure home again :D
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post #12 of 24
9/15/09 at 9:01pm
Blueicus - would the suggestion from another poster above re adding lemon zest instead of juice affect the glutens in the same way as the juice? It would certainly add a lot of lemony flavour - sometimes the zest is better than the juice, depending on the dish.

Just a thought.

Or what about citric acid powder? Or would it, once wet, act the same as lemon juice? Could always try lemon pepper seasoning :)

P.S. Hang in there Yeti...you don't need to unpack it all. If you have a bench, your hands and a broomstick, sharp knife and a straight edge on a bread board - you can do pasta :) Oh plus boiling water and a pot and stove helps :)
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post #13 of 24
10/24/09 at 11:09pm
Thread Starter 
I'm in a more permanent place now, and I finally got around to making noodles using semolina flour and lemon juice (no water). Well actually I didn't make noodles, but I started. It didn't work. I didn't even get started on rolling the noodles because it was obvious it was not going to work--after letting the dough rest for a couple of hours it was not smooth as it should be. It was still kind of grainy and crumbly as when I first mixed it up. So it went badly, as some of you predicted. That's cool, though, I learned something. I'm glad I didn't have it planned for dinner. Next I'll be trying adding lemon juice or zest to plain cooked pasta, and I'll definitely try those ways of making scallops offered here by you nice people :^)
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post #14 of 24
10/25/09 at 6:51am
You beat me to it. Zest or lemon oil would be less acidic and make for an easier dough. I used to have a recipe for noodles make with rice wine vinegar and I recall that it was very tough to kneed it smooth. It wanted to clump and crumble horribly.
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post #15 of 24
10/25/09 at 6:54am
For sauce, why not a lemon beurre blanc?
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post #16 of 24
10/25/09 at 11:39am
It's funny that this thread popped up again. Just two days ago, out of the blue, I decided to make some homemade fettuccine with lemon zest added to the dough. It turned out to have a nice flavor and messed very little with the texture. All that was detectable was little lumps where the zest was, which would be expected. I made two pounds of pasta and used the zest from one small lemon, which was a bit light for what I was going for. But again...it turned out nice.

I topped it with a traditional Alfredo sauce, compliments to Alfredo di Lelio. I've made pasta a couple of times in the past, but I'm currently trying to force myself to get more comfortable making it. Hopefully to get to the point where I don't hesitate to make fresh pasta/noodles with any dish.

dan

(edit add: OregonYeti, glad your in a more permanent place now :thumb:)
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post #17 of 24
10/25/09 at 12:07pm
I've had a lemon pepper pasta before. It would be good with grilled chicken or fish. Alfredo sauce too.
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post #18 of 24
10/25/09 at 12:31pm
Thread Starter 
That sounds really good :^)
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post #19 of 24
10/25/09 at 1:01pm
That's what happens when you apprentice in an Italian place and your first Sous gig is French menu catering. Cross Mojonation.:smoking:
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post #20 of 24
10/25/09 at 1:06pm
Thread Starter 
Do you mean lemon pepper in the noodle dough, or . . . ?
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post #21 of 24
10/25/09 at 1:09pm
Thread Starter 
I'll have to try that some time. And thanks, it's great to be cooking now:smiles:
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post #22 of 24
10/25/09 at 2:37pm
Yes, a lemon pepper pasta dough.
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post #23 of 24
10/29/09 at 6:51pm
That sounds delicious.
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post #24 of 24
10/29/09 at 9:25pm
I want to try some Asian dishes that originated in japan, singapore, philippines, and india. I don't have any idea yet. But I try some tofu burger.
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