Spiced Scallops with Curried Beluga Lentils
Plus, a template for a 30-minute brain-healthy dinner to make your own
Hello, everyone. I am back from visiting my mom and it is good to be home. Fall is in full swing here, which means the animals are busy. A herd of elk has been traipsing through my yard most days, and I can hear them bugling throughout the night. This morning when I walked to the river I saw two bear cubs in a tree. No sign of momma bear, but I hightailed it out of there as fast as possible! I am excited to cook this weekend. Tomorrow is our Founding Member Kitchen Chat and we will be making two kinds of soup (Buttery Zucchini Soup and a creamy white bean and tomato soup my friend’s in Sicily call “Annie’s Soup”) and braised greens, all recipes I brought back from Italy.
If you’d like to join the Kitchen Chat tomorrow, sign up or upgrade your subscription to Founding Member by 12 pm MDT Sunday, October 15. The class begins Sunday at 5 pm MDT. Once you’re signed up, I’ll send out recipes and a zoom link.
Today’s recipe for Spiced Scallops with Curried Beluga Lentils is one I turn to again and again. I created it for the Fish and Seafood chapter of my book. It’s substantial and I love how speedy it is. In just 30 minutes, it’s ready to eat. Since its inception, I have made this quick dish dozens of different ways: I’ve changed up the type of legume, subbed in rice for the lentils, swapped in different seafood for scallops, and made it completely vegan with tofu instead. Last weekend, I demoed a version of the recipe at the Slow Food festival in Jackson Hole. Topped with wild salmon instead of scallops, it was happily devoured by all!
A comment from subscriber Leni really got me thinking about recipe substitutions. She wondered if I could come up with a master recipe for a handful of iconic BHK dishes. That way, you’d have a template for many meal situations. I thought it was a great idea, and could easily imagine creating flexible recipes for creamy bean soups, 30-minute mains, one-pan skillet eggs, flavorful grain bowls, easy fruit desserts, etc. In other words, a handful of go-to brain-healthy recipes to make depending on what you have on hand and what you like to eat. All of these recipes and their riffs would streamline meal planning and simplify cooking.