This little black dress of a dish, perfectly tailored by Jamie Oliver, has been to New Year’s parties, house warmings, first dates, and anniversary dinners. And like the classic black dress, pulling it off in style is all about how you accessorize.
Oliver recommends pancetta and celery root purée, which works marvelously, but depending on the occasion, we’ll substitute the pancetta for bacon and the celery root for creamed spinach, creamed leeks, or puréed peas. I imagine puréed sweet potatoes would be interesting, too. Make sure you get your pan screaming hot before you start cooking these jewels, and above all, use one that’s large enough to hold everybody comfortably. Depending on how they’ve been stored/treated, scallops can release a lot of liquid, and if they’re crowded, they’ll steam and turn rubbery. Which is worse than a broken zipper on your favourite black dress.
seared scallops with bacon and puréed peas
serves three as a tasting course
6 large sea scallops
6 thinly sliced strips of bacon (artisanal if possible)
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. chopped fresh lemon thyme (or regular thyme), plus extra for garnish
grated zest and juice of one lemon
2 C fresh or frozen peas
1 shallot, chopped
1 C stock
1/4 C heavy cream
1/2 C white wine
3 tbsp. butter
salt and pepper
Get the scallops marinating. First trim the bacon lengthwise, so it’s a bit narrower than the scallops. Throw it in a bowl with the scallops, 2 tbsp. olive oil, lemon zest, thyme, and lots of salt and pepper. Mush everything around for a minute, then wrap the scallops up in the bacon, securing with a small skewer or toothpick.
Now the peas. Melt a tbsp. of butter in a wide pan, add the shallots, and soften over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the peas and stock, raise to a boil, then simmer on medium-low heat until the stock has all but evaporated. Season with plenty of salt and pepper, add another tbsp. of butter, then stir in the cream. Remove to a deep bowl and blend to a purée with a stick blender. (You can do this in a food processor or blender.) Don’t make it into soup, it should have some texture. Spread onto a large plate and put in the fridge to cool. It will thicken as you cool it. When it’s close to room temperature, spread three small plates with a thick bed of purée.
Now fire the scallops. Put a tbsp. of butter and a thread of olive oil in a non-stick pan, and heat to almost burning. Put the scallops in the pan, and then don’t touch them for at least 60 seconds. When you can see that the bacon is really crisp, and that the edge of the scallop is really seared, use tongs to flip them over, and turn the heat down to medium- high. Let the scallops cook for another minute or so on the other side. Watch carefully and you’ll see when they want to come out of the pan. Turn the heat off, and proudly set 2 seared scallops on each bed of peas.
Let the pan cool for a moment. Then put it back on high heat, and deglaze it with the lemon juice and the white wine. Let this reduce to a syrupy glaze, and season with lots of salt and pepper. Drizzle over the scallops, and garnish with more pepper and thyme. Serve immediately. Don’t stop to take a picture, or the scallops will be cold.
I love scallops and I love bacon, but haven’t had them together yet. I have wrapped bacon around lots of things: filet, pork tenderloin, water chestnuts, fudge… I have not clue why I haven’t done it w/ scallops yet! Your blog has reminded me of my love of both and I need to make this asap!
[...] Seared scallops with bacon and pureed peas [...]
The top picture is beautiful. I am tempted to eat one.
Have you ever tried Jamie’s seared scallops and crispy prosciutto with roasted tomatoes and smashed white beans? I often make it when I have guests for dinner. Everyone love the recipe. It is on The Naked Chef Takes Off cookbook (a.k.a Return of the Naked Chef), if you are interested.
I served this as a starter on Christmas. Big hit! I am definitely making them again.
The reduction was very, very sour, so I ended up using only a very small amount of it. Next time I may either reduce the amount of lemon juice, or I will, again, only drizzle a teaspoon or so over the scallops.
Regardless, this was a GREAT dish.