Dry-Pack Sea Scallops

Wild, Delaware coast

The sea scallops we are offering this week are shucked on the boat, dry-packed, and shipped on ice. Dry-pack scallops have no chemicals added. (Wet-pack scallops are soaked in a water-retentive sodium triphosphate solution meaning that about 30% of what you pay for is water. When cooked they exude so much water that they can't be properly seared.) Dry-pack scallops will caramelize nicely. They are firm and slightly tacky to the touch. We suggest that you try them with cuttlefish ink pasta for a color and texture extravaganza. (On the store page, click the "Organic Pasta" link at left.) Seafood Watch rates dry-pack scallops a "Good Alternative." Low mercury level. 
1 lb. for $23.00

-- Seared Scallops with Pea Purée (O & O Eats)
-- Squid Ink Pasta With Shrimp and Scallops (Serious Eats)

California White Seabass

Hook-and-line caught, California

The California white seabass season is going strong. In the 1980s the declining seabass fishery was part of an experimental program (Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program or OREHP), which used hatchery fish to enhance wild seabass populations. Not only was that strategy successful (the fishery has completely recovered), but Seafood Watch now considers California white seabass a "Best Choice."

In spite of its name, however, California white seabass really isn't a seabass—it's a type of croaker. Its flesh is meaty and firm, and its flavor is mild and some say sweet. It is great for grilling but it can also be baked, sautéed, or (our favorite method) pan-roasted. Low mercury level. Kosher.
1 lb. for $17.00

-- Seabass with Citrus and Soy (Bon Appétit)
-- Pan Roasted Seabass with Mushrooms and Marsala
(Reluctant Gourmet)