Very few things you make will be as simple or as complicated as a salad. A good salad must combine sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami with judicious abandon, striving for balance on the seesaw of flavors. Too much in any one direction leads to inedible misery. I will confess to not being a huge salad fan. Nothing I can think of is less appetizing than a bowl of greens with a few toppings, drowning in House dressing. (What the devil is House dressing exactly? Does anyone know?) My father, however, is a salad connoisseur, devouring one or two a day. So I thought I should give greens a chance.
The trick of this recipe is to use good ingredients. Because you are not going to be baking, boiling, or otherwise transfiguring your salad, it matters what you use. As my father says, “Garbage in, garbage out”.
Sea Scallops on Butter Lettuces with Warm Peach Dressing
Serves 1
Ingredients
2 sea scallops, side muscle removed
1 medium peach, quartered
½ small shallot, chopped
3 slices center cut bacon slices
1 tsp. Ground ginger
¾ cup white wine
1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp champagne vinegar
1 bag fresh baby butter lettuces
White Wine Reduction
1. Place white wine and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat slightly and cook until wine is reduced to about ¼ cup and has a syrup consistency. Remove from heat.
Dressing
1. Cook bacon in a small skillet until crisp. Remove bacon and pour out all but 1 tbsp. of the bacon fat.
2. Add chopped shallot and peaches to the skillet. Sauté for 1-2 minutes
3. Add White Wine Reduction, champagne vinegar, salt and pepper. Allow a few minutes for ingredients to combine.
Sea Scallops
1. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium skillet.
2. Season scallops on both sides with salt, pepper and ginger.
3. Add scallops to skillet and cook about 4 minutes on each side, or until done.
Salad
1. Add a handful of greens to a big-ish bowl and pour dressing over the top. Toss to distribute dressing.
2. Place greens on a plate, add peach quarters and scallops.
Cook’s Notes: When you add the scallops to the skillet, resist the urge to move them around a lot. It is a sauté, but you want the scallops to caramelize on each side. So, place them and leave them.
The trick of this recipe is to use good ingredients. Because you are not going to be baking, boiling, or otherwise transfiguring your salad, it matters what you use. As my father says, “Garbage in, garbage out”.
Sea Scallops on Butter Lettuces with Warm Peach Dressing
Serves 1
Ingredients
2 sea scallops, side muscle removed
1 medium peach, quartered
½ small shallot, chopped
3 slices center cut bacon slices
1 tsp. Ground ginger
¾ cup white wine
1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp champagne vinegar
1 bag fresh baby butter lettuces
White Wine Reduction
1. Place white wine and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat slightly and cook until wine is reduced to about ¼ cup and has a syrup consistency. Remove from heat.
Dressing
1. Cook bacon in a small skillet until crisp. Remove bacon and pour out all but 1 tbsp. of the bacon fat.
2. Add chopped shallot and peaches to the skillet. Sauté for 1-2 minutes
3. Add White Wine Reduction, champagne vinegar, salt and pepper. Allow a few minutes for ingredients to combine.
Sea Scallops
1. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium skillet.
2. Season scallops on both sides with salt, pepper and ginger.
3. Add scallops to skillet and cook about 4 minutes on each side, or until done.
Salad
1. Add a handful of greens to a big-ish bowl and pour dressing over the top. Toss to distribute dressing.
2. Place greens on a plate, add peach quarters and scallops.
Cook’s Notes: When you add the scallops to the skillet, resist the urge to move them around a lot. It is a sauté, but you want the scallops to caramelize on each side. So, place them and leave them.
2 comments:
It looks beautiful! Tasty, too, I'd venture. Must try this one sometime soon.
Thanks! It was tasty.
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