Logo

While I love thick winter stews and soups in the wintertime—hearty fare for the colder days—I always feel the need to break it up with something light and reminiscent of warmer weather. It's like having the sun poke out for a few hours after days and days of rain or snow. It's a welcome relief, makes you smile, and reminds you that you won't be suffering freezing temperatures forever.

This week is was a special salad with seared scallops. Glistening with fresh lemon juice, slivers of lemon zest and some robust olive oil, the addition of beans and bit of aged parmesan makes the dish tasty, filling, and healthy.

Scallops are bivalve mollusks with beautiful fan-shaped shells. There are two basic types: the sea scallop, which are large 50-cent sized rounds, and bay scallops, their smaller cousin. I find that the sea scallops work best when the protein is the focus of the meal and the bay scallops work well in curries, risotto, ceviche, and stews. Scallops are best when fresh, but because they are shucked right out of the ocean (or bay), many are frozen on the spot and are perfectly acceptable to buy already frozen. Many restaurants feature the larger diver scallops, meaning that the scallops were harvested by hand by a diver, rather than wide scale using a dredge or trawl system.

A 3-ounce serving of scallops has just 75 calories, and negligible fat, cholesterol and sodium. With 14 grams of protein, scallops also have about 20% of the RDA of vitamin B12 and phosphorus. Tasty and good for you, too.

While some prefer to drench their scallops in heavy French sauces, or cook it with copious amounts of butter and garlic, I find that simple is better. You can quick sear them for a main course and do a light sauce on the side; maybe a drizzle of pesto or garlic butter. The quick sear also works for salads, like the recipe below. They can also be skewered and grilled on the barbecue in the summer (or for those of you in warmer climes).

So break out of the heavy winter stew rut and brighten your table and your spirits with a bit of sunshine and seashore.

Seared Scallop Salad
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 pound of sea scallops*
1 bag mesclun or baby salad greens

In large bowl, toss the drained beans with cheese, lemon juice, zest, basil, 3 tablespoons oil, and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside. In a skillet, heat remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Add scallops to skillet, sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper and cook 4-5 minutes, turning once. Make sure the scallops have turned opaque throughout before taking off the heat.

Toss the mesclun or greens with the bean mixture and arrange of 4 dinner plates. Top with the scallops and sprinkle with a bit of extra parmesan cheese.

*Scallops vary in size and thickness. If you find that you have bought larger scallops (10-12 scallops per pound rather than 20-25), then cut the scallops in half through the center to make two round scallops.