Focus on food: May 03, 2010

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

Directions:
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.