Note: I thought the recipe I put in had saved…it had not…so THIS TIME with the correct recipe included…
If there is anything you should know about me, it’s that I LOVE scallops. Can’t get enough of them, but unfortunately, Frankie isn’t the biggest fan, so I don’t make them at home very often. HOWEVER, Frankie recently went to Denver for a lacrosse recruitment event (he is a man of many hats and talents if you didn’t know that already), so I thought, GREAT, now’s my chance! So I am presenting to you all my take on Scallops with a pea puree and, of course, bacon, which I think is absolutely a classic pairing with scallops don’t you agree?
Hoping all of you reading this are staying safe and well!
— Cooking Maggie
Seared Scallops with Bacon, and Pea Puree
Ingredients
- 12 sea scallops, patted dry and side muscle removed
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 4 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces (I like to cut up the bacon when it’s horizontal).
- 1 shallot, diced
- Zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons mint leaves, finely chopped
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, bring 2 cups of water to boil. Keep the heat on medium high, add your peas and 1/2 tsp of salt and cook until peas are bright green and tender (about 4-5 minutes). Being sure to save the cooking liquid, strain your peas over a large bowl. Set aside 1/3 cup of the cooked peas from the rest.
- In a food processor, combine the majority of your peas (minus the 1/3 cup), the lemon zest, juice, mint, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Blend till smooth, and you can add more liquid if needed. You can warm up your puree in a small saute pan or sauce pan if it cools too much while cooking your bacon.
- While your peas are cooking, salt & pepper both sides of the scallops.
- In a large skillet (non-stick or cast iron), add the bacon and heat over medium-high. Cook the bacon until the fat starts to render (about 4-5 minutes). When your bacon is almost cooked, reduce the heat to medium, and add in the shallots and stir consistently until they are lightly toasted (about 1-2 minutes). Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and shallots from the pan, and set them aside on a paper lined plate.
- In the same skillet, put the heat back up to medium high, and working in batches, adding more oil if needed, sear your scallops until it gets a golden brown crust (about 3 minutes each side). Allow to rest for 1-2 minutes on a paper lined plate.
- Serve on top of the pea puree and top with the bacon, shallots, and left over whole peas.
The Real Cooking Maggie 