Seared Scallops with Brussles Sprouts & Bacon

I love scallops, those sweet, tender morsels from the sea. I found this recipe back in 2004 and just recently made it for the first time. It is not easy to find "dry-packed scallops". They are scallops that do not have extra liquid injected into them. I happened to find a 2 pound bag of these dry-packed beauties at Costco.

As with most recipes I made changes to this one. Instead of using multiple pans i did it using one skillet. I also cut it down to feed one person.

Since my scallops were frozen I had to thaw them out.

While the scallops were thawing I blanched the Brussels sprouts and cooked the bacon.

After they had been blanched and were cool enough to handle I halved each Brussels sprout.

They were then tossed into the skillet that the bacon had cooked in, along with some butter and sugar.

I then used to skillet for the scallops.

While the scallops were cooking I combined the bacon and Brussels sprouts.

The finished product. I did not use high enough heat so my scallops didn't get as brown as they should have.

Seared Scallops with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

10 ozs Brussels Sprouts - I used frozen and thawed them out
3 strips (3 ozs) bacon cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup plus 2 tblsp water
1-1/2 tblsp butter
pinch of sugar
12 large sea scallops (1-1/4 lbs)
2 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp fresh lemon juice - I used bottled

Blanch Brussels sprouts in boiling, salted water, uncovered for 3-4 minutes. Drain and halve.

Cook bacon in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, turning occasionally until crisp. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a small bowl and reserve the bacon grease in another small bowl.

Add 1/4 cup broth and 1/4 cup water to skillet and bring to a simmer, scraping up any brown bits. Add butter, sugar and Brussels sprouts; simmer covered for 4 minutes. Remove lid and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally until liquid is evaporated and Brussels sprouts are golden brown and tender, about 8 minutes more. Stir in bacon and remove from heat. (At this point I transferred the Brussels sprouts & bacon to a small bowl and kept them warm)

Pat scallops dry. Heat olive oil with 2 tsp bacon grease in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Then sear the scallops, turning over once until golden brown and just cooked through, 4-6 minutes. Transfer to a platter and keep warm. (I added them to the bacon and Brussels sprouts)

Pour off and discard any fat in skillet. Add remaining 3/4 cup broth and simmer, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, 1 minute. Stir cornstarch into remaining2 tsp water in a cup, then stir into sauce along with any scallop juices on plate. Simmer, stirring 1 minute then remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

Put scallop mix on plate and spoon sauce over.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Life Update

My Beautiful Kelekona

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Molasses Sauce