Mediterranean Scallops

Talk about a dish that will brighten up your dinner plate.

This is it.

Adapted from the always amazing Molly O’Neill’s A Well Seasoned Appetite, this dish has all the ingredients to transport you on a mental vacation to the Mediterranean .

Saffron, orange, basil, rosemary.

Throw in a few choice scallops, Nicoise olives and the freshest tomatoes you can find.

Pasta, if you like.

It’s travel in a bite.


Mediterranean Scallops
Adapted from Molly O’Neill’s A Well Seasoned Appetite

A couple of swirls extra virgin olive oil
2 large shallots, minced
1 spoonful garlic confit ( or a couple of fat garlic cloves, chopped)
1 cup dry white wine
1 large pinch saffron
6 -8 of the ripest Campari tomatoes, quartered
½ cup oil cured olives, pitted
½ fresh orange, zested
2 medium springs fresh rosemary, chopped
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 large basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade
A good splash aged sherry vinegar
1 pound fresh scallops
Enough cooked pasta (linguine or fettuccine) for 2 (optional)

Put a couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet and heat til the oil is wavy. Add the minced shallots and garlic and maintain a medium low heat. Cook until the shallots are tender. Add the wine , saffron and raise the heat to medium high and saute stirring, until the mixture is reduced to about ¼ cup.
Add half the tomatoes, olives, orange zest, rosemary and season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. Reduce the heat back to medium low and cook, stirring frequently until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.

Combine remaining tomatoes, fresh basil, sherry vinegar and season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper in a glass bowl and set aside to marinate while you finish the dish.

Add the scallops to the skillet with the sauce and cook, about 5-7 minutes, until the scallops are cooked through.

This is faboo with or without the addition of the pasta.

Top the dish with the marinated tomato salad and serve.

Serves 3 generously.

Click here for a printable recipe!

One Year Ago on Feeding Groom

Two Years Ago on Feeding Groom

Mediterranean Scallops

Pan Seared Scallops with Fresh Thyme and Summer Vegetables

It’s that time of year when the farmer’s market is filled with fresh vegetables and one’s thoughts turn to…the pig.

I can’t help it. We have been so good this summer. The pig has barely made an appearance at any of our dinners.

Sometimes I feel like I’m running a seafood restaurant.

Tonight I just couldn’t stand it anymore. We had beautiful sea scallops, fresh “peaches and cream” corn, red bell peppers, fresh lima beans.

And all I could think about was the pancetta. Sitting lost and alone in the fridge.

It positively threw itself into the hot cast iron skillet.

The rest is history.

Fabulous edible history.


Pan Seared Scallops with Fresh Thyme and Summer Vegetables

1 pound large sea scallops, patted dry
2 pieces pancetta, diced
A good swirl extra virgin olive oil
Several sprigs fresh thyme
2 ears peaches and cream corn, cut from cob
1 red bell pepper, seeded, diced
1 cup fresh lima beans
2 green onions, diced
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat good swirl of extra virgin olive oil in cast iron skillet. Throw in the pancetta and let it brown til crisp. Remove from pan and let the pancetta drain on paper towels.

Be sure the scallops are as dry as possible and put them in the hot cast iron skillet. Let cook, undisturbed until they are golden brown and caramelized on the bottom. Turn and season with lots of freshly ground black pepper and a bit of coarse salt. Cook a couple of minutes til done and remove to a bowl and sprinkle with fresh thyme bits (stripped from the stem, not chopped).

Add the green onion and red bell pepper and cook for several minutes, until soft. Add the limas and the corn and cook for about five minutes until done. Toss with the scallops and fresh thyme and sprinkle with the pancetta.

Serves 3 generously.

Pan Seared Scallops with Fresh Thyme and Summer Vegetables

Grilled Scallops with Prosciutto, Leeks and Red Pepper

I’ve got seafood on the brain.

It could be that vacation is coming up very soon and I’m practicing all the recipes I want to do at the beach. Or it could be that all the rain that’s falling in Tennessee is reminding me of the ocean.

Or it just could be that we love seafood.

So, okay. Clams one night. Scallops the next.

That’s cool.

Then again, I am quite fond of the pig.

It could be all that pork belly floating around the blog world these days that’s got me much more into Porky than ever before. I haven’t tried the belly yet, but it’s on my to do list.

Chorizo one night . Prosciutto the next.

I’m seeing a pattern here.

And when the pig and seafood get together it’s a marriage made in heaven. Two nights in a row.

Grilling scallops was the plan tonight, but rain changed the outdoor action, so the handy dandy grill pan came to the rescue.

Prosciutto is crisped to perfection to be used as a garnish for the grilled scallops. Garlicky leek and red bell pepper saute on top of buttery spinach as a base for the sweet seafood.

Surf and turf takes on a new meaning.

Maybe I’ll do salmon and pancetta tomorrow…hmmmm….

Grilled Scallops with Crispy Prosciutto, Leeks and Red Pepper

6 large sea scallops
4 fat cloves garlic, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, diced
2 leeks, cleaned, light green to white parts only, diced
About a pound of fresh spinach, cleaned
¼ lb prosciutto, diced
1 tbsp butter
A couple of good swirls extra virgin olive oil

Heat a cast iron skillet and add a couple of good swirls of extra virgin olive oil. Add prosciutto and cook about 8-10 minutes til crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Add leeks to the pan and saute five minutes, then the red bell pepper and garlic. Cook ten minutes until very soft and golden. Remove from pan and season with coarsely ground black pepper.

Grill scallops about 4 minutes per side depending on how big they are. While scallops are cooking, cook spinach. Put rinsed spinach in a hot skillet and cover for five minutes, remove the top and cook til wilted and water evaporates. When done add the tbsp of butter.

Plate with the spinach on the bottom, the leek and pepper mix on top of that finishing with three scallops per person. Sprinkle prosciutto over all and serve.

Serves 2 generously.

Grilled Scallops with Prosciutto, Leeks and Red Pepper

Linguine with Shrimp and Scallops in Thai Green Curry Sauce

Look at the picture. It’s beautiful, if I do say so myself.

This is so easy to do. If you’re in the mood for a bit something different but familiar, some shrimp and scallops in a green Thai curry sauce on linguine will do just fine.

Make this one. It tastes as good as it looks.

Linguine with Shrimp and Scallops in Thai Green Curry Sauce
Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook


A couple of good swirls vegetable oil (all we have is olive)
1 red jalapeno pepper
4 green onions, thinly sliced, white and green parts reserved separately
1 pound sea scallops
¾ pound 21-25 shrimp, peeled, tail on
Coarse salt
1 14 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tbsp Thai Green Curry Paste
¼ cup chicken stock
1 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
1-½ tbsp Asian fish sauce
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
2/4 pound thin linguine
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat a good swirl of oil in skillet over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the chile and white parts of the green onions and cook stirring occasionally until lightly browned. Transfer to paper towel to drain. Set skillet aside.

Pat the scallops and shrimp dry and season with salt. Heat two good swirls of oil in that skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add scallops and cook , turning once, until browned, takes about tow to three minutes on each side. Transfer to a bowl. Cook shrimp in skillet stirring occasionally until almost cooked through, about three minutes. Add the shrimp to scallops.
Add coconut milk. Curry paste, stock, brown sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice to skillet, bring to a simmer, stirring and simmer, stirring occasionally for five minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water. Until done, drain.
Stir scallops and shrimp with any liquid in bowl. Reduce heat and simmer until scallops and shrimp are just cooked through about two minutes.

Transfer seafood to a clean bowl. Add the pasta and cilantro to sauce tossing to coat.
Divide pasta and sauce in bowls. Top with the seafood and sprinkle with green parts of the green onion and chile scallion mix.

Serves 3

Linguine with Shrimp and Scallops in Thai Green Curry Sauce

Scallops with Fresh Ginger and Sauteed Leeks

Lighten up is the theme around here as the festivities slow down and life gets back to normal. Knowing us, this won‘t last. Anyhoo, I was totally uninspired in the dinner department tonight until I picked up Mark Bittman’s Quick and Easy Recipes from the New York Times and started flipping through the pages. Groom loves scallops, and hasn‘t had anything that swims in a long time. I came across the recipe for Stir-Fried Leeks with Ginger and Shrimp. Bye, bye shrimp, hello scallops! I was off like a shot to the pantry to be sure I had some dry sherry because that would bring the sweetness out of the scallops. Leeks were hanging out in the refrigerator sending mental messages to me. This was terrific! Plus, it looks damn good on my grandmother’s china. Groom lit the candles. A round of applause for the chef.

Scallops with Fresh Ginger and Sauteed Leeks*

A couple of swirls extra virgin olive oil
2 large leeks, washed and chopped…use the white part only
6 -8 large sea scallops, patted dry
2 tbsp peeled minced fresh ginger
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
A good splash dry sherry.. I used Lustau Escuadrilla, a great dry sherry for cooking

Do a couple of swirls of extra virgin olive oil in a nonstick skillet and heat over medium high heat. When it shimmers, add the leeks. They can sit for a minute or two and then stir occasionally until they are soft and start to turn brown. This takes about 10 minutes. Remove leeks from pan.
Add a swirl of extra virgin olive oil to hot pan and add scallops and sprinkle with the fresh ginger. Cook til golden brown on one side..doesn’t take long at all, turn the scallops and add the leeks back to the pan. Season with salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste and a good splash of the dry sherry. Let cook a couple of minutes til the scallops are done and you are good to go!
Serves 2-3.
*(I’m not a stir-fryer)

Scallops with Fresh Ginger and Sauteed Leeks

A Good Thing from Martha

You gotta love Martha. The woman can organize a closet, plant an herb garden, iron fitted sheets and fold them so they look like flat ones…and she can come up with some great recipes. I love Martha. Not to excess, but I do love her. And it has nothing to do with the fact that when Anne and I did a party years ago for a Junior League function, she attended and wrote a wonderful column about our food. Seriously, it’s not about that.

I get MARTHA STEWART LIVING magazine and have for years. I cut out all the

GOOD THINGS and save them all over the house. It probably would be a good thing if I would put them all in one beautiful linen box calligraphied with the words “good things Martha thinks I need to do.” But I haven’t done that. Probably won’t.

However, the January 2008 mag appeared in the mailbox on Saturday and perusing the pages I came across a very cool recipe for Pan Seared Scallops with Lemon and Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Herbs. And the best thing is the recipe is on those cards you can tear out and stick in a drawer somewhere for Groom to find in four years and ask me, “Honey, don’t you want to put all of these Martha things a file or a box so you can find them?” And I’ll smile and say, “Ok, Groomie, maybe I'll look through them.”

Pan Seared Scallops with Lemon…adapted from Martha Stewart Living January 2008 issue

1 pound sea scallops, tough muscles removed
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon, cut in wedges
Pat scallops dry with paper towels and season well with salt and coarsely ground black pepper. Heat oil in cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add scallops to skillet and cook until golden brown and cooked through about 3 minutes to the side.
Serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side.
Serves 4.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Herbs..adapted from Martha Stewart Living January 2008 issue

1 large spaghetti squash halved lengthwise and seeds removed
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces Parmesan Reggiano grated
½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
Preheat the oven to 400’. Sprinkle olive oil over the squash and using your fingers, rub it in the cavity. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Place squash, cut side down on a Pam’d baking sheet and roast til tender probably about 40 minutes or so. Cool slightly.
Take a fork and scrape the squash to remove the flesh in long strands. Place in bow and all oil, parmesan, parsley and pine nuts with salt and pepper to taste. Toss and serve immediately. Serves 4.

A Good Thing from Martha