Seared Scallops and Wilted Greens
Rich and savory Seared Scallops and Wilted Greens. A hearty meal that satisfies, yet is easy on the waistline.
The first time I ever seared scallops was on my honeymoon.
Lt. Dan and I got married right after college over seventeen years ago. We decided that before we took the plunge into our new “grown-up” careers, we would spend a month in Colorado, hiking, visiting natural hot springs, rafting, horse-back riding, and taking lots of pictures.
One evening we planned to stay in our cabin and cook. Being honeymooners, we wanted to prepare something fancy… Seared scallops perhaps.
I had some cooking experience, but coming from a family with five kids, we didn’t eat a lot of seafood or expensive proteins.
Like many new cooks, I was afraid of the possibility of raw seafood. The word bacteria kept trailing through my thoughts.
What if I poisoned my new husband?
The image of us sitting in the ER on our honeymoon was more than I could bare. So I sautéed the scallops… And sautéed the scallops. And sautéed, sautéed, sautéed, until at some point they ceased to be moist, buttery pillows of oceanic bliss, and turned into dense rubber balls, similar to those you get out of a 25 cent slot machine.
My sweet new hubby complemented my dinner as he struggled to chew. Upon first bite my teeth trampolined off the scallops. Oh dear, what had I done?
The truth is, many people overcook seafood. Whether due to fear of bacteria or oversight, it’s an absolute travesty to ruin perfectly good fish and seafood by elongated cooking.
Most varieties of seafood are best when just barely cooked through. Seared scallops are actually considered to be cooked to perfection when the top and bottom are caramelized and crisp, yet the inside is a touch undercooked.
Usually 1-2 minutes per side over high heat will do the job!
Today I’ve paired some “colossal” jumbo scallops with wilted greens and served them over white beans for a healthy low carb meal. The acidity in the greens complements the devilishly rich scallops.
Seared Scallops with Wilted Greens could be served with grits, potatoes, or mashed cauliflower, for and elegant low-country meal!
I like to serve Seared Scallops with Wilted Greens on its own to cut the carbs.
Seared Scallops with Wilted Greens
Ingredients
- 3 slices of thick-cut bacon, cut into small pieces
- 2 shallots, sliced thin
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 bunches kale, chard, beet greens…
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- 12 jumbo sea scallops
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Slice the kale stems into thin pieces and the leaves into larger strips. Heat a large deep sauté pan to medium-high. Add the bacon a cook 3-4 minutes.
- Add the shallots and cook until soft, 3 more minutes. Next add the garlic, and kale stems. Cook another 4-5 minutes before adding the leaves. Toss until the leaves wilt over the heat. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, then salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.
- Heat an iron skillet to high. Dry the scallops thoroughly and remove the "foot" on the side of each scallop. Salt and pepper liberally. Add the oil to the pan and swirl around. When it starts to smoke, quickly add the scallops. Cook on high for about 1-2 minutes.
- Flip the scallops over and add the butter. Spoon the butter over the scallops as they cook another 1-2 minutes. Serve over warm greens.
I have told you I love your new lokk – but you have made this such a fun sight to play around in! And, YUM. I love scallops. And, your green pot. It is exactly the same as mine! The bean recipe looks great and it is my goal to eat more of these this year, for sure.
:)
Valerie
Sommer, I love you paired them with cooked greens…well-balanced and delicious!
I love your new home, thanks for sharing your web site designer’s name. Everything looks great and so well organized! The photos are big and clear, looks so professional and delicious. Congratulations:’)
I also like this recipe for sea scallops, lots of yummy kale makes a healthy dish;-)
Great post to start off with, gorgeous job on the revamp! I look forward to more…I think I need a revamp! ha
Love, love, love the new layout. Cheers!
Beautiful! I love seared scallops. Never tried the kale though. Your site looks great!
Your site looks AMAZING. I’m bringing my husband over to see it so he can get an idea of what I want when we work on my own. Wow! And this scallop dish is beautiful. I loved hearing about your first time cooking scallops too (I had an almost identical experience) Thank you for sharing with me…and for your sweet words on my blog. You made me smile!
Sommer, your new blog look is gorgeous. I love the clean look, how the pictures are framed and the gray behind the recipe box. Your logo is perfect! I have my husband working on mine at the moment. We already bought the theme and I am very excited. I will be moving from blogger to my own domain using WP. Shauna did a wonderful job for you.
And the scallops came out perfectly crisp using the cast iron pan. This is a dish cooked for my husband!
Sommer, I can’t tell you how much I love the step by step photos! I’ve never made scallops before but man this does make me want to try my hand at them. I love the new site too. Your pictures (and recipes) really POP on here :p
Your scallops look amazing! And you’ve got bacon in there? YUM!
Beautiful photos!
Looks amazing! I want this for dinner tonight! Yum. :)
I love the new site. The scallops, I love even more. They are one of my favorite seafoods. Yours look wonderful.
The site looks so good! As does the dish; I love crunchy kale in anything.
I love scallops but my husband does not so I never make them at home. I wonder if I could change his opinion with this delicious dish!?!?
PS – I got your FB and Twitter messages and responded. Perhaps you aren’t getting those? So, here is my email… carketch29 (at) yahoo (dot) com.
I am very interested and want to hear more about how it all works.
Welcome to WordPress. I happen to be a WP Fan. The new site looks great and love the idea to add the Ashville Page. I could do that with Highlands Ranch. I love that first photo Sommer. The scallops look beautiful but adore that lime green plate. Must be Fiestaware. I got my nerve up a couple of months ago and trusted my cast iron skillet to a very delicate piece of sea bass. Couldn’t believe how well it worked and it looks like to worked it’s searing charm on these scallops.
Love the new look….neat and easy to navigate. Love your scallop, too. I love to eat scallops but have not learned to cook. You made it look simple and easy to cook. Beautiful pictures.
Isn’t it a shame that we don’t have scallops here in Greece? This dish looks perfect and I love the new blog look.
First, I love sea scallops and these are beautiful. Second, I LOVE the new look!! It’s GORGEOUS and happy. Easy follow you on Twitter now!