Chef/Co-owners Provence Restaurants Vancouver, Jean-Francis and Alessandra Quaglia
Recipe from “New World Provence: Modern French Cooking for Friends and Family”
We discovered this seafood dish while traveling through the Italian Riviera east of Provence. In a small town called Portofino we found a small restaurant called Sailors with delicious fresh food. There’s nothing like local shellfish with a light, fresh sauce for summer dining. Our “Virgin Sauce” contains all the “virgin” ingredients from the south of France, with extra virgin olive oil to bring out a delicious flavour. We like to pair this with Inniskillin Pinot Grigio. The wine’s citrus and tropical flavours and crisp acidity works beautifully with the shellfish in this classic Mediterranean dish.
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 cup white wine (Inniskillin Pinot Grigio works well)
½ lb (225 g) fresh mussels, cleaned and de-bearded
½ lb (225 g) fresh clams, cleaned
8 fresh scallops
8 fresh prawns, shelled (keep tails on) and deveined
1 cup Virgin Sauce
¼ cup fresh herbs (parsley, chives, basil), chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method:
In a large pot on high heat bring wine, mussels, clams, scallops, prawns and Virgin Sauce to a boil. Once
mussels and clams have opened in about 4 minutes, remove pot from heat. Discard any mussels or clams that have not opened. Add herbs and oil and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Virgin Sauce
4 medium diced small tomatoes (optional)
5 fresh basil leaves, julienned
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste
In a bowl mix all ingredients until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Store leftovers in fridge
for up to 3 days.
NOTE: Purchase the freshest mussels and clams possible from your local seafood market (we love the selection at Granville Island), choosing ones that are closed tightly and discarding any that are open or broken. Fresh mussels and clams must be stored in the refrigerator and cooked the same day of purchase. When purchasing scallops and prawns, select ones that are large enough to be counted (10-15 per LB) and 16-20 prawns (or 8-10 per LB). For this recipe do not use baby scallops.
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