Oooookay! It’s March! And that means that St. Patty’s Day is quickly coming upon us! So back story (of course! It is my blog ya know 😜)… I was never big into St. Patty’s. I always kind of rolled my eyes as a kid when some dumb kid showed up with a “kiss me, I’m Irish” t-shirt. Wtf does that even mean? I mean, I literally know what it means. But where the heck did it come about to ask people to kiss you because you’re Irish? DISCLAIMER: please don’t kiss me just because I’m Irish.
Anywho, I am generally a mutt. Northern European with a bit of Russian thrown in there for good measure. My highest percentage is Norwegian on my dad’s side ~ over 25% ~ my grandma was 100%. I have a fair amount of Irish from my mom’s side. But neither side of my family really embraced the culture of any of my ancestry. With Norwegian and Irish being fairly dominant traits, it’s rather disappointing not to grow up with an enriching environment that taught me about my ancestry. Maybe that was because a lot of my ancestors dated back pretty far… some coming over on the Mayflower. So, perhaps my family just viewed themselves through and through as American?
Well, about 10 years ago, I was going through a stressful period at work. My manager had taken a different position in the company, so I was filling in for his job while learning that the company wouldn’t promote me to officially take it over (although they would let me continue to do the job while they waited for a replacement ~ fucking men). So, on the spur of a moment, I decided to use some vacation time and just get away.
I had always wanted to go to Ireland, and so I said screw, let’s do it! And made virtually NO plans. I rented a car and I just started driving! I spent a week there, starting in Killarney, heading over to Cork and discovering Blarney Castle, and ending up in Kilkenny where I spent an enjoyable evening talking to two business colleagues from Northern Ireland. I was in love. Ireland had me hooked.
After I got back to the States, my husband and I shortly after started dating. He had always wanted to go to Ireland also, so he was so intrigued by my spur of the moment jaunt over there. A couple of years later, he and I went there together, flying into Northern Ireland and driving around the northeastern coast before driving down into Ireland. When my stepdad died five years ago, I went back again to spread some of his ashes off of the Dingle coast. My stepdad was pretty close to 100% Irish (Kennedy), and he had spent time in Ireland, and Dingle specifically, when his nephew went to Dublin to represent the Notre Dame football team.
I ended up bring my son to Ireland also. I actually kind of regretted that trip, only because it showed what a spoiled American my son was. Not a brat, but typical privileged American. Which is why I ended up bringing my son all over Southeast Asia almost two years ago so that he would learn some appreciation for just how easy his life really is.
But, back to Ireland! Needless to say, Ireland has grown on my more and more. I have explored almost every part of the island. I want to go back and explore the peninsula north of Londonderry and then head back into Ireland and explore the northwestern part of the island. I have explored a lot of the area north and northwest of Galway, but I want to go waaayyy north of Galway and explore that coast.
My favorite parts of Ireland are Kilkenny and Wicklow County. I could not live anywhere without trees, and these two areas have trees and a lot of areas to hike and get outdoors. Wicklow County would be an amazing place to live because it also borders the Irish Sea, and, well, I am the old woman by the sea! Ireland?? Can I come stay??
Although I wasn’t raised with my ancestral cultures, I have certainly started exploring and embracing them on my own. I’ve recently started to turn my eye toward Norway and learning more about that heritage. But, my personality and appearance is so much more Irish that I just identify with it so strongly! So, I’ve brought the culture home with my. And while I ensure my son’s Filipino culture is represented and explored in my house also, I make sure he grows up knowing his Irish culture too.
So, March has turned into an Irish smorgasbord. We don’t just celebrate our Irish heritage on St. Patty’s Day. Instead, when March comes around, we decide what Irish dishes are getting made that year and Irish meals roll out for a good week or two!
This year, I kicked it off with this Irish scallop dish. I actually found a similar recipe online by it called for a ridiculous amount of Kerrygold butter (2 sticks!) and it poached the scallops. I am not against poaching scallops or fish in certain dishes, but I was not feeling it for this dish. I really just wanted seared scallops in a light cream sauce over mashed potatoes!
Capturing Irish flavors for this dish, I used leeks and peas but added dill and lemon zest and juice for a boost in flavor! As I’ve been doing lately, I used unsweetened cashew milk for the cream gravy, rather than regular milk, to reduce the amount of calories. Using regular milk or even heavy cream will work just as well in this recipe, so use whichever you prefer! I also added in clam juice for an added hint of brininess!
And that’s pretty much it! This is such a delicious Seafood Saturday dish. It’s super easy to make (by pre-made microwaveable mashed potatoes if you want to save even more time)! And, this turned out to be a great way to kick of the Irish season at home. It certainly is not the most traditional Irish dish most would think to make if deciding on a St. Patty’s Day meal, but it is certainly one to add to your arsenal and try!
There will be more Irish recipes coming… some will also not be so traditional, but I will most certainly incorporate most of the traditional recipes as well! I know I said I generally hate March, but I love making all these Irish dishes and finding new ones to make each year! It’s the silver lining to a month that is generally pretty brutal for me. And so far, pandemic or not, this year March has started off pretty great!
Enjoy!
Irish Scallops with Leeks and Peas over Mashed Potatoes
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Seafood
- Cuisine: Dinner
Ingredients
16 sea scallops
1 cup leeks
4 garlic cloves
zest & juice of ½ a lemon
3 TBs dill
4 TBs Irish butter, divided
3 TBs flour
1 cup peas
¾ cup milk (I used unsweetened cashew milk)
1 cup clam juice
To Serve
mashed potatoes
watercress to garnish
additional dill, chopped, to garnish
lemon wedges to garnish
Instructions
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic and cook for a minute or two, or until the leeks are lightly browned. Sprinkle with the flour and stir until fully saturated. Slowly add in the milk and clam juice, stirring or whisking constantly until fully incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest, dill, and peas. Bring to a light simmer and then reduce the heat to low until the sauce thickens.
Meanwhile, pat the sea scallops dry and lightly season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the scallops. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side until lightly golden and cooked through. Spoon the butter over them as they cook.
Dish mashed potatoes onto plates and divide the scallops evenly among them. Drizzle the white gravy with leeks and peas over the top and garnish with watercress, dill, and lemon slices, as desired.
Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Keywords: Seafood Saturday, scallops, Irish scallops, white sauce, white gravy, cream gravy, low calorie cream gravy, Kerrygold, scallops in a cream sauce, scallops and peas, scallops on mashed potatoes, scallops with a cream gravy
