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Monthly demos highlight simple seafood recipes

Bellingham SeaFeast expands its offerings

Chef Samantha Ferraro of The Little Ferraro Kitchen sears scallops on a cast iron skillet during a food demo at the Bellingham Dockside Market. The demos are on the third Saturday of the month through May
Chef Samantha Ferraro of The Little Ferraro Kitchen sears scallops on a cast iron skillet during a food demo at the Bellingham Dockside Market. The demos are on the third Saturday of the month through May (Trenton Almgren-Davis/Cascadia Daily News)
By Amy Kepferle Staff Reporter

As Bellingham SeaFeast Program Director Kevin Coleman and food blogger Samantha Ferraro of The Little Ferraro Kitchen were setting up the mobile kitchen for the monthly Keep it Simple Seafood (KISS) demo at Squalicum Harbor’s Fisherman’s Pavilion last Saturday, they were peppered with visitors even before the pans had been turned on and the ingredients for Ferraro’s brown butter scallops with creamy polenta were uncovered.

Coleman told one curious onlooker he’d had the idea to offer the monthly workshops during the Bellingham Dockside Market as a way for people to become comfortable making simple recipes with bounty procured on-site from local fisher-folks.

photo  People at the Bellingham Dockside Market visit the Lummi Seafood Market featuring live Dungeness crab, salmon, coho and sockeye, spot prawns and red and green sea urchin. (Trenton Almgren-Davis/Cascadia Daily News)  

Another reason Coleman started KISS was because of his own health, he said. He had a heart attack in 2021, and along with getting more exercise, he switched to a cardiologist-approved pescatarian diet. Letting people know about the health benefits of eating seafood is another priority of his.

“I’m 52 years old and I feel like a 25-year-old,” he said, smiling widely.

“You look great,” replied frequent Dockside Market customer Kaiyette Jensen, who’d already procured a case of Alaskan weathervane scallops from Bellingham’s Sea to Shore Seafood and planned to use some of them to make Ferraro’s recipe that night. A former caterer, Jensen has cooked scallops a number of different ways, but she said she’s never seared them before.

Ferraro pointed out that the main thing with prepping scallops or any other kind of meat for searing is to make sure it’s as dry as possible before seasoning and cooking.

“I’ve already learned something,” Jansen said. “It’s a new technique, which is great.”

When I mentioned to Jensen I’d always been a little hesitant about cooking scallops, she said I’d be remiss not to try out the recipe — especially since the weathervanes sold by Sea to Shore Seafood are the best she’s ever had in her life.

“You’re always going to make mistakes,” she said. “It’s not a perfect thing. But the end result is so good.”


photo  The crowd laughs at a joke made by Chef Samantha Ferraro and Chef Kevin Coleman during a cooking demo at the Fisherman’s Pavilion. (Trenton Almgren-Davis/Cascadia Daily News)  

As Coleman and Ferraro got the demo underway, the crowd at the pavilion grew.

Ferraro introduced herself, noting her website has hundreds of recipes, including plenty of seafood choices. As well as being influenced by places she’s lived — New York, Hawaii, California and now Washington — she said she grew up in a Jewish family and has plenty of Mediterranean recipes. She also teaches cooking classes at the Community Food Co-op and is always looking for ways to connect with the community.

“I love to eat, I love talking about food, and I love talking to people about food,” Ferraro told the crowd. “That’s what we’re going to do today.”

As Coleman and Ferraro tag-teamed the demo, the audience learned creamy polenta is easy to make and can be used as a side dish for everything from shrimp to crab, steak and short ribs. We also discovered it’s an inexpensive dish that can be modified with non-dairy products.

When it comes to the seafood, Ferraro said, “let the scallops do the talking.” In other words, keep the seasonings simple. She also emphasized this is a dish you don’t want to walk away from, as the scallops sear within a minute or two on high heat. 

photo  Chef Samantha Ferraro, left, and SeaFeast Program Director Kevin Coleman pose following a food demo featuring scallops from Sea to Shore Seafood. (Trenton Almgren-Davis/Cascadia Daily News)  

“People tend to want to overcook them,” Coleman cautioned, also noting they shouldn’t be crowded in a pan. “Samantha and I [made this] this last month. It was a lot of fun to see her create this dish and see how quickly it came together.”

Although those attending the demo weren’t allowed to taste the final product, the plated dish looked and smelled delicious. Coleman said he’s hoping there will come a time when they can offer samples to the crowd, but for now he’s betting the KISS demos will result in more products being purchased from those who vend at the Dockside Market, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first and third Saturdays of the month.

“There is something to be said about enticing the crowd with great smells and entertainment,” he said.

Based on Ferraro and Coleman’s skills, and the aforementioned recommendation from Jansen, I took a chance and purchased a little more than a pound of frozen scallops from Sea to Shore Seafood. On the way home, I stopped by the Co-op and picked up some Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free yellow corn polenta mix.

There were a few hiccups along the way, but the end result was as promised. The polenta complemented the scallops instead of overpowering them, the seafood was seared on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth moist on the inside, and even though I wasn’t sure what I was doing, the recipe took less than 30 minutes to complete.

“This is brilliant, mind-blowingly amazing food,” my dining partner commented, savoring each bite. He made similar comments the following day, when we had the leftovers for lunch.

photo  Samantha Ferraro’s seared scallops with creamy polenta melds a sweet buttery taste with a tangy lemon zest. (Trenton Almgren-Davis/Cascadia Daily News)  

Brown Butter Scallops over Creamy Polenta
— Recipe by Samantha Ferraro of The Little Ferraro Kitchen

Scallops

5-6 wild scallops
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil + more for garnish
2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finally chopped + more for garnish
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Polenta

3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup polenta
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Ground black pepper

Bring vegetable stock to a boil and once boiling, whisk in the polenta. Continue whisking until the polenta thickens, then turn off the heat. Whisk in the milk, butter, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper, and continue whisking until the butter has melted and the polenta is creamy. Once done, set aside.

For the scallops, dry the scallops very well and season with salt and pepper. Bring up a cast iron skillet to high heat and drizzle in olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Once melted, sear the scallops on each side until a deep golden crust forms, about 1-2 minutes per side, then set the scallops aside.

Lower the heat in the cast-iron skillet and add another tablespoon of butter and chopped garlic. Sauté the garlic for 30 seconds, then stir in a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, chopped fresh parsley, and stir to combine to make a pan sauce.

When ready to serve, spread a generous layer of polenta at the bottom of the plate, top with seared scallops and a drizzle of brown butter pan sauce. Garnish with more fresh chopped parsley and fresh lemon zest and serve.

Get more recipes from The Little Ferraro Kitchen at littleferrarokitchen.com. Find her on Instagram at @FerraroKitchen.

KISS occurs on the third Saturday of the month at noon at the Fisherman’s Pavilion at Squalicum Harbor. Sign up for the Bellingham SeaFeast newsletter to get details about the next demo and watch videos of the ones that have already taken place. Info: bellinghamseafeast.org/kiss.

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