Grilled Shrimp and Scallops with Vegetable Kebabs

A couple of weeks ago I happened upon a Bon Appétit magazine from June 1986. The cover featured skewers of grilled shrimp and scallops alongside colorful vegetable kebabs.

Like seeing a photograph of an old friend in a picture album, I was transported back several decades to the first time we met this perfect summer supper. I wanted to revisit the recipe and grill again.

During the summer grilling outside becomes a regular part of our cooking repertoire. There’s no sense in heating up the kitchen when you can sit on the deck and enjoy the sunset and a cool drink while the barbecue makes its magic happen. And when the grill can take on both seafood and fresh summer vegetables, it’s even more of a winner.

The original recipe for the seafood kebabs was created by Joyce Resnik from Camarillo, California, and appeared in Bon Appétit’s column called, “Cook’s Exchange.” Resnik wrote that she “wanted to impress out-of-town guests with the abundance of fresh vegetables” available in Southern California. The flavors of the meal she created, along with the beautiful appearance of the dish, prompted her to share it.

Having frozen shrimp and scallops in my freezer and a lovely assortment of fresh veggies from Ellen and Yoni’s garden, I was ready to cook.  I decided to defrost just enough shrimp and scallops to feed two people and keep the rest for another grill session later in the summer. I wrapped each scallop in a thin sheet of prosciutto, providing a flavorful blanket for the delicate shellfish.

What I liked about this recipe, which I scaled down for two, is that one eggplant, one zucchini, and some other random vegetables from my refrigerator could contribute enough to make handsome and really tasty kebabs. Resnik suggested using pearl onions and pattypan squash, which required precooking before going on the grill. I wanted to simplify the recipe and avoid using the stovetop. (Also, I omitted the large mushrooms she suggested, only because I had none.) So I changed up the vegetables in the kebab lineup to match what I had on hand. Summer squash, red and green peppers, red onion, and the eggplant created a multihued combination.

Bright lemon, fresh herbs, and spicy black pepper join with olive oil for a simple but flavorful marinade.

I changed Resnik’s technique a bit, deciding (for food safety reasons) to use only half of the lemon pepper marinade for the seafood and put the rest aside to later baste the vegetables.

Finally, my grillmaster Chuck suggested that we skewer only the vegetables and cook the scallops and shrimp separately on a grill pan. His technique allowed the seafood to get heat on all sides and to be pampered individually. We were able to pull the shrimp away from the main heat of the grill when they were done a couple of minutes before the scallops.

The combination of the crisp, salty prosciutto against the sweet, tender scallops wowed us. Both the scallops and the shrimp carried a tangy lemon note that brightened the dish.

Likewise, the herb-infused marinade matched up with the vegetables, allowing them to keep their individual profiles, but somehow shine better.

A bit of the garden and a bit of the sea made our summer meal memorable. (And yes, enough to feed 3 or 4!)

Grilled Shrimp and Scallops with Vegetable Kebabs

Sunnyside Cook

Dawn Dobie

Grilled shrimp and scallops in a bright lemon pepper sauce alongside fresh summer vegetables

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Prep Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 6 large sea scallops
• 3 thin prosciutto slices halved lengthwise
• 8 large shrimp peeled but tails left intact
• 1 yellow crookneck squash cut in 3/4-inch slices
• 1 zucchini cut in 3/4-inch slices
• 1/2 red bell pepper cut in 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/2 green bell pepper cut in 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/2 large red onion cut into 1 1/2-inch wedges
• 1 Japanese eggplant cut in 3/4-inch slices
• salt

Instructions

 

• Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, minced herbs, lemon zest, and pepper in small bowl. Pour half of the mixture into another bowl and set aside.
• Wrap a slice of prosciutto around each scallop, securing it with a long toothpick pushed through where the ends of the prosciutto overlap.
• Place the scallops and shrimp in a shallow bowl where they can fit in one layer. Pour one of the bowls of marinade over the seafood, flipping the scallops and shrimp so that they have contact with the herbs and lemon zest. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, but not more than two hours.
• Thread the vegetables on the skewers in a pattern that you like. I placed the rounds of squash, zucchini, and eggplant disc-side up so that they could have more surface area for basting and grilling.
• Remove the seafood from the refrigerator. Season with a sprinkling of salt on each side.
• Heat the grill to medium. Oil the grates with vegetable oil.
• Place the vegetable skewers on the grill. Baste with the the marinade that was set aside. Season with salt. Flip the basted side to rest on the grill. Baste the second side of the vegetable skewers and season to taste with salt. Continue flipping and basting every 3 minutes or so, for a total of 12-15 minutes or until the vegetables have browned a bit and seem appropriately grilled.
• In the last 6 minutes of the vegetable kebab cooking time, place the shrimp and scallops on a cooking rack on the grill. Cook on one side for 3 minutes, then flip and continue cooking. If the shrimp turn pink and seem finished early, push them to a cooler part of the grill while the scallops finish cooking.
• Offer platters of grilled seafood alongside the vegetable kebabs, garnishing with fresh parsley and thyme.

Notes

Recipe can easily be doubled. Use kebab vegetables that you like.
This dish is tasty alongside a rice pilaf or cooked orzo.

Adapted from Joyce Resnik in Bon Appétit (June 1986)