Seared Scallops with Pear Salad
Serves 2.
By Dennis W. Viau; inspired from a Gordon Ramsay video.
This is a quick and easy recipe that can be prepared in minutes. The scallops cook in only about 10 minutes. The salad plate can be prepared while the scallops are cooking. In 15 minutes this meal can be placed on the table.
Ingredients:
2 to 3 tablespoons pure (not extra virgin) olive oil, peanut oil, or other high-temperature oil
1 pound “dry pack” divers (sea) scallops (see Note at end)
1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
1 head butter lettuce (or other gourmet lettuce)
1 pear
Salad dressing (preferably homemade—see my recipe for Salad Dressing)
Optional: raspberry flavored vinegar for the homemade salad dressing
Directions:
Heat the oil in a skillet over high flame. When the oil is hot, season the scallops with pepper on both sides are carefully arrange them, flat side down, in the oil. Reduce the heat to medium-high and sear 5 minutes per side. They should take on a golden brown color.
While the scallops are searing, arrange a bed of lettuce on two plates. Cut a pear in half, top to bottom, and use a vegetable peeler to shave “leaves” of pear flesh, avoiding the seeds, arranging on top of the salad. Garnish lightly with a little salad dressing, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
When both sides of the scallops are seared, remove from the heat and season with salt. Garnish with lemon juice and lemon zest. Allow to rest a few minutes.
Arrange the scallops, dividing between the two plates, on top of the salad. Serve immediately.
Note: The scallops often sold in the fish case at the grocery store are typically “wet-pack” scallops. They are treated with a sodium tripolyphosphate solution that gives them a longer shelf life. The solution makes the scallops hold more liquid (which makes them weigh more so that they sell for more). When you try to sear them the liquid oozes out and, at best, you can only steam them. “Dry-pack” scallops are not treated. They sear more easily. Reliable fish stores usually sell fresh dry-pack scallops, but they are expensive. Quick-frozen scallops will often suffice, thawed, because they are frozen soon after harvest, therefore not needing the sodium tripolyphosphate treatment.
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