rarerollingobject

I used to make my cousins mini pizzas, on toasted English muffin halves, for school lunches. The right size, held up well, and had that whole "a little pizza, all of my own" appeal. They were pretty damn good, even cold.

Well, I did it, and so far, am still here (though it's only been 20 minutes). Scallops, fresh in shell, with roe and topped with a little tobiko (I cleaned them out of the shells and then placed them back in) How did the roe taste? The texture was firm but gelatinous, like a firm custard, and it tasted a little like lobster tomalley or prawn heads, but with a slightly bitter/murky tone and a bit of a metallic aftertaste. In short, it was interesting and old sea dogs would find it quite reminiscent of many other kinds of roe/ozone-y seafood tastes, but it wasn't all that delicious in its own right per se..next time will try the prep a la _john.

Love the sound of that! Great combo. Courgette fritters and pomegranate sounds right up my alley. Yum.

You said somewhere you used to post as Nick? Unless 'Nick' was just an internet nick, which could get quite meta.

Uh ooh. We haven't heard from RRO lately. Are you still with us? I hope so. Heh..reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. I would know if I died, as I would have heard my staffmembers celebrating by now. Thanks so much for the scallop roe prep link, Nick (is it Nick??). I did read it and am duly chastened, however being an irrational trollop for scallops, think I am still going to try it - not in quantity, maybe just 1 or 2, and from shell scallops only (easier to gauge freshness) and ones caught in Australian waters. We have a good fish market here in Sydney - second biggest in the world, so it's got good turnover and freshness - and I'm headed there tomorrow to pick up the makings of my last meal. Will post pics!

Oh dry your eyes..it's an online forum, FFS, what did you expect? People are always going to have opinions, wildly varying, and not always positive, constructive or exactly commensurate with YOUR world view. It's not an advice column; don't participate if you aren't ready to be disagreed with and field a volley of opinions that will, guaranteed, sit anywhere along the scale of irrational to instructive. And anyway, if you really couldn't foresee the potential sensitivities/negative reaction to the idea of faffing around in the kitchen and eating breast milk (particularly among women, many of whom find breastfeeding very difficult and an intensely emotionally and physically exhausting, and in some cases distressing, experience of early motherhood), then..yeah. In short, stop clutching your pearls, build a bridge and get over it. And by all means post your damn results. Some people will be interested, some people will be repulsed, and that's all as it should be.

Oh. my. god. I'm in love..that fat cap!!

Love your work, Country. Report back if you find anything.

Caw canny there, RRO. If it's seafood and the Japanese don't eat it raw, there tends to be a good reason. Shime-saba because mackerel pests migrate from gut to flesh upon death; katsuo tataki because katsuo pests go the other way (I hope I've got these the right way round). Caw canny..that's "be careful", not "DO IT, DO IT NOW!!", right? But yes, that's exactly what I was thinking..if the Japanese don't do it.. However, I can't resist the scientific discovery angle of just TRYING it..curiosity killed the Kate.

No sense!! Really?? Why, some kind of crazy regulation, or just custom?? At least in Maine, and maybe in other states, I think it's a law that scallops have to be shucked on the boat. Sounds like no roe is the go. Unbelievable..I mean, I could understand shucking for transportation to the far inland states of the US, since the roes are so perishable but it seems a shame that they're shucked even for sale in Maine. The regulated world is often a very sad place, I say. I'm going to try them raw..is it THAT different from eating sea urchin, which I do all the time? And if I was diving and found a scallop, I can see myself prying it open and slurping it down with no hesitation. Let's just hope I get particularly fresh ones! Updating my will as we speak, RRO

Well, I'm no scallop sex expert, but I think they're hermaphrodites and change from female to male at various stages. The red stuff is female roe, and when it's white, it's male er..fertiliser. I see ones with white coral sometimes. Rarely.

Hmmm, thanks..will give this a go, though I must say I've never encountered black liquid in the centre. Interested to see what this prep does to the texture.

I think I shall, PC..if I'm never heard from again, you'll know what happened!

Really?? Why, some kind of crazy regulation, or just custom?? That's very sad, the roe is delicious! Virtually any bog standard Australian fish shop will sell scallops roe on or off, and in shell is pretty common too. Though someone else was saying it's actually hard to get head-on prawns in the US too, which I find amazing - crazy!

I just sat down and read the whole foodblog..lovely! Thanks so much for sharing your week.

Just to say it again: really looking forward to this! Your food is incredible, one of the ones I always look out for on the Dinner thread. Want to see everything, so bring it on! (PS. I would kill for that kitchen..)

I've long been a fan of raw scallops, as tartare, ceviche or sashimi. And I do love the roe, or the coral, but have always cooked them when I've bought scallops with the roe attached. What about eating them raw?? I must say it's never occurred to me until now, until this evening, mid-chew of some nice cooked scallops and roe; but I can't think of a reason why not. Though I've never heard of or seen anyone doing it, even in all my sushi-eating time in Japan. Both Google and eG searches are strangely silent on the subject too - anyone here tried it?

This week is going to be awesome! Can't wait.

Beautiful as usual, dcarch!

This is great, I love it!

heidih; one last idea for you. A Yotam Ottolenghi recipe incidentally just posted today - I think it sounds lovely, but would cook them only enough to seal. (bottom of page)

Yep, to me, sorry, weird. Also, I can't work it if it's more or less ooky that it's from a 'close family member'. What, your sister?? Don't answer that. Anyyyyhow..I would still be scientifically and eGulletly curious/horrified were you to report back with results of the ice cream if you DO end up taking milk from the mouths of babes, so yeah..

Also, if you try making maguro zuke (marinating the tuna in soy and mirin after an optional quick dunk in boiling water) you can keep it for another few days before eating. It's a light preserve.

If you want to keep some for a bit longer, you can always confit a chunk in olive oil.

ScottyBoy, that squid is incredible! Just amazing! That is all.