Focus on food: December 08, 2007

Fresh Seared Scallops

Ingredients:
• 1 pound bay or sea scallops, cleaned and trimmed
• Freshly ground pepper (to taste)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons Italian parsley
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Direction:
• Sprinkle the scallops with pepper on both sides. Heat large frying pan (11”) over medium high heat for about 1 minute. Add the butter to the pan, melt and swish to coat the bottom of the pan.

• Continue to heat until the butter turns golden brown. Add scallops to the pan but don’t crowd them. The cooking time may vary between 2-5 minutes per side, depending on the size of scallops.

• Turn the scallops with tongs one at a time (important)!! Turn only once, but caramelize on both sides, forming a nice crust.

• When the scallops are seared, add the parsley and garlic and stir the scallops. Garnish with a lemon wedge. }

• Serves 4 people generously.

• Recipe Variation: You may use other herbs such as cilantro, chives, oregano or basil according to your taste.