Riffing on a favorite fish dish

Grilled scallops with lemon-herb drizzle

Grilled seafood, lemon, extravirgin olive oil and herbs: This simple Mediterranean quartet of ingredients is a surefire combination. I first discovered it decades ago at a Greek taverna where they served whole fish char-grilled and doused with spoonfuls of lemon-olive oil dressing spiked with dried oregano and fresh parsley.

To this day, when I see that dish on a menu, I can’t resist. Over the years I have enjoyed playing around with the basic formula, using different kinds of seafood, whole, filleted or skewered; substituting lime for lemon; changing up the herbs (pretty much any herb works, and I like to mix dried and fresh); and adding elements such as chopped olives, capers or minced shallot. It’s a food version of music’s basic blues progression, a simple but winning structure that lends itself to endless possibilities for riffing.

In the accompanying recipe, scallions threaded onto skewers alternately with plump scallops bring an extra element of taste, texture and beauty to the plate, as the vegetable softens and its ends frizzle attractively during grilling. The dressing drizzled over the skewers is just like the one I remember from that taverna way back when, with dried oregano and fresh parsley. But here I added the zest of the lemon as well as its juice for an extra layer of brightness. Prep: 20 minutes 5 minutes 4 servings tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil teaspoon finely grated lemon zest and 1 tablespoons lemon juice teaspoon dried oregano tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves scallions pounds large scallops (about 12) teaspoon kosher salt teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Whisk together 2 tablespoons oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice and oregano in a medium bowl. Stir in the parsley. Trim the scallion roots and greens, leaving about an inch of the white and light-green part. (Save the greens for another use, if desired, such as in a salad.) Thread the scallops and scallions onto four skewers, alternating them on each skewer. Brush the skewered scallops and scallions on both sides with the remaining tablespoon of oil; season with the salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Add the scallops; cook, turning them over once, until grill marks have formed, and the scallops are no longer translucent, 5 to 6 minutes total. Serve right away, drizzled with the lemon-herb mixture.

210 calories, 11 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrates, 1 g sugar, 18 g protein, 600 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

GORAN KOSANOVIC/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST