Pasta with clams, Saint Jacob scallops and squid

This weekend was the “Foire aux harengs et à la coquille de St Jacques” in the coastal town of Dieppe but we could not go to the Normandy port.

To mark this weekend of herring and scallops and encourage the hard-working small-boat fishermen there, I made a dish with scallops from my local fishmonger.

She does not sell herring for the grill, so I combined it with some clams and squid.

The hardest part of the preparation is to clean the scallops — you open them by wedging a knife at the shortest end of the shell.

Then you remove the “barde” beard and take out the white nugget “noix” and pinkish coral “corail” while making sure you do not touch the black pocket of excrements not the digestive tube.

This can be done with a spoon. Note that the St Jacob scallop is a special species and the general “scallop” also applies to other versions that are called “pétoncles” in French.

For the squid, you wash the outside and remove the thin skin, take out the head from the body and remove the translucent spine. Wash the inside. Some turn the body inside out.

You cut the tentacles from the head and discard the innards. I cut the bodies, you can also fill them up for another dish.

The clams I washed in water then cooked in white whine until they opened up. I drained them and kept the liquid;

I cut an onion and fried it in olive oil, then added the squid and clams and a tin of tomato sauce. I cooked for 5 to 10 minutes and added pepper and oregano.

I cooked the pasta in boiling water.

I fried the scallops in butter.

I drained the pasta and added it to the skillet with clams and squid, added some clam liquid and stirred it.

Then I added the scallops and presented the dish.

I did not use garlic as the scallops and clams have a very delicate taste.