Seared Scallops with Green Peas, Mint and Shallots
8
20
290
Ingredients
Minutes
Calories
Prep
Cook
Servings
5 min
15 min
4
Health Highlights
Less than ten ingredients, including salt and pepper, and the whole dish takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. Plus, there’s bacon. Need we say more?
Ingredients
2 1/2 cup
Frozen green peas
(fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup
Water
1/4 cup
Mint, fresh
1 dash
Salt and pepper
(Kosher; freshly ground)
1/3 cup
Bacon, fat reduced, salt reduced
(4 slices, chopped 1-2 inch pieces)
1 large shallot(s)
Shallots
(minced)
681 gm
Scallop, raw
(large; patted dry and foot muscle removed)
1 pinch
Sea Salt
(optional, for serving))
Instructions
In a large pot of salted boiling water, blanch the peas until bright green and soft, about 3 minutes.
Reserve a large handful of peas for garnish/texture and transfer the rest to a blender.
Blend the peas, drizzling in water to reach a creamy consistency.
Add the mint leaves, a large pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper to the blender, and blend until smooth. Set aside but keep warm.
In a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until the fat is rendered, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the bacon and discard most of the fat, reserving and setting aside a little bit for cooking.
Add the shallot to the cast-iron skillet, containing the reserved bacon fat, and sauté for about 30 seconds.
Add the reserved, non-blended peas and cooked bacon. Cook for about 30 seconds more, then remove but keep warm.
In the same pan, warm the reserved bacon fat over high heat until just barely smoking, then add the scallops, and cook for about 2 minutes on each side.
Serve the scallops with the pea puree, a sprinkle of the bacon-pea mixture, and flaky sea salt if desired.
