Oh. My. Goodness. Its been a hot minute, hasn't it? I've missed sharing my adventures in food with you. Life has been crazy. But I've vowed to make more time for things I enjoy, and here I am, doing a blog entry again. (*Grins*)
Let's dive right in shall we? My husband and I adore a Chili Rubbed Scallop dish at Sambucca in Nashville so I cooked my own version of the dish. Now, first a disclaimer. I have an unfair advantage over you. My Father lives in Florida and brought me a ton of beautiful, fresh seafood on his last visit. I froze these scallops to enjoy them over the next couple of months. Scallops we purchase here in Tennucky are not as nice, so feel free work with what you have. Salmon, tilapia, or even chicken would be just as good prepared this way and served on top of the summer succotash. However, if you can get your hands of decent scallops, say, at Whole Foods, this dish is worth every penny.
Before I give you the recipe, let me provide you with my Four Scallop Commandments:
Thou shall get thy pan screaming hot before adding scallops.
Thou shall make sure thy scallops are thoroughly dry before seasoning and cooking.
Thou shall not be afraid scallops are burning and turn them too soon. No unnecessary poking, no prodding.
Last and most important:
Thou shall not overcook thy scallops!
Chili Rubbed Scallops over Summer Succotash
Ingredients: (2-3 servings)
Scallops
8 Sea Scallops
Chili Powder
Smoked Paprika (might be hard to find, not a must for this dish, but definatlly adds a nice smokey flavor if you can find it)
Kosher Salt/Black Pepper
Non Stick Cooking Spray
Succotach
Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 clove of garlic, diced
1 jalepeno, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 red pepper chopped
4 ears fresh corn, cut off the cob (or 1 cup frozen corn)
1 cup frozen Baby Lima Beans
10 cherry tomatoes; halved
1-2 tablespoons red wine vineager
Kosher salt/Black Pepper
Directions:
Boil 1 cup of baby lima beans in a small pot of water for 10 minutes to soften. Drain and set aside.
To start, find your two non-stick pans. Rinse and pat the scallops dry (very well dry, remember the scallop commandments). Season one side of scallops with chili powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Set aside while you start the succotash.
Chop and dice everything before you begin.
Heat a non stick skillet with a drizzle of EVOO over meduium heat. Add in the diced garlic and jalpeno pepper. Let this satuee until the garlic starts to sizzle, not brown.
Heat a non stick skillet with a drizzle of EVOO over meduium heat. Add in the diced garlic and jalpeno pepper. Let this satuee until the garlic starts to sizzle, not brown.
Add in the diced onion and red pepper. Sautee for 1-2 minutes unitl the onions start to soften.
Lastly, add in lima beans, corn and cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper. Let this all cook together over meduim heat for 2-3 minutes. Pour a couple of spashes of red wine vinager and reduce heat to low. Let the vinager reduce a bit and stir occasionaly while you cook scallops.
Heat another burner to medium-high (closer to high, depending on you stove settings) heat. Spray the pan with non-stick spray while it is still cool. Now be brave, you want the pan screaming hot before you add the dry scallops. Let the pan heat up, don't rush this process. Once your pan is hot add in the scallops seasoned side down.
Let the scallops cook on this side for 3-4 minutes. Don't you dare think about poking or turning them before the three minute mark! Turn scallops and let the cook on the other side for 2-3 more minutes.
The pan might smoke, sizzle, or hiss at you with the cool scallops carmelizing in the hot pan. Don't panic. You want the sugars on the surface of the scallop to carmelize. It's what give them the yummy crust outside. Trust me.
Let the scallops cook on this side for 3-4 minutes. Don't you dare think about poking or turning them before the three minute mark! Turn scallops and let the cook on the other side for 2-3 more minutes.
The pan might smoke, sizzle, or hiss at you with the cool scallops carmelizing in the hot pan. Don't panic. You want the sugars on the surface of the scallop to carmelize. It's what give them the yummy crust outside. Trust me.
I advise you to remove the scallops j u s t before you think they are done. They will continue cooking for a mintue or so out of the pan.
Spoon the succotash on plates and top with 4 scallops. I served ours with a side of mashed potaotes. The succotash was a great light summer addition to the chili rubbed scallops I adore from Samubucca.
Enjoy!
Promise you will hear more from me soon....
Promise you will hear more from me soon....
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