Scallops done right at home

I love scallops.  I love their sweetness and when done right, their texture.  However, my first several attempts at cooking them at home ended very nearly in a call to the local pizza delivery.  I gave up.  It just wasn't worth it.  However, in the last year I have rededicated myself to learning how to properly cook scallops at home, and I am happy to say that it has been successful!  The first success came when Kristi and I did tapas at home.  In a couple of small cast iron skillets we cooked some chorizo (Kristi prefers the Mexican style fresh chorizo, though I do like the dry, Spanish style for this) and then turned up the heat for the scallops after taking out the cooked chorizo.  I seared the you-know-what out of the scallops for a couple of minutes resisting the urge to lift them up and see what all was going on.  When I finally did flip them, the surface of the scallops had a beautiful golden brown crust, exactly what I love about restaurant scallops.  Doing the same on the other side of the scallops took only a few more minutes and there they were!  Needless to say I was quite encouraged. 

Here in Dallas there is a restaurant called Smoke next to the Hotel Belmont, and they have a phenominal scallop dish on the menu.  That is possibly one of Kristi's favorite meals.  Last weekend we decided to try and recreate it at home.  After a brief search for the recipe came up fruitless, I went to the Smoke website and checked out the dish's description on the menu.  http://www.smokerestaurant.com/dinner.html

Scallops, pancetta, brussels sprouts, lemon, white beans.  Ok, not overly complicated.  I went to Central Market and picked up the prescribed ingredients and headed home to give it a shot.  Although the menu says that they cook the scallops in a cast iron pan, I have found that I get a better sear from stainless steel, so if you were to try this at home and had one but not the other, I am sure you would be fine.

Smoke's Scallops as interprited by Aaron and Kristi (serves 2 generously)

6 large sea scallops
brussels sprouts (peeled so that you are actually only using the leaves)
3/4 of a can of canellini beans
2 slices 1/4 inch thick pancetta diced
juice of 1 lemon
white wine (sauv blanc in my case)
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic minced

Blanch the sprouts leaves and drain.  Dry pan and cook half of the pancetta in 1 tbsp olive oil until crisp.  Remove to a paper towel lines plate and set aside.  Add the garlic and the sprouts leaves, salt and pepper to taste and saute just enough to combine the flavors.  Set aside. 

In a second pan, cook the other half of the pancetta in 1 tbsp olive oil until crisp.  Remove pancetta and set aside.  Dry the scallops with a paper towel and lighty season with salt and pepper.  Over high heat place the scallops in the pan.  Be careful not to crowd them so that they do not steam instead of sear.  After a couple of minutes, flip the scallops.  If they are hard to move in the pan, they are not quite ready to flip.  Once the second side is seared, remove the scallops and cover to keep warm.

Deglaze the pan with a cup of white wine.  Scrape up all the brown bits in the pan.  Add the beans with their liquid and stir.  Add 1 tbsp of butter and stir until smooth.  Combine the sprouts and the pancetta into the beans mixture.  To plate spoon a healthy portion of the beans, sprouts, pancetta and sauce onto a plate.  Place three scallops on top and squeeze lemon juice over it.  Enjoy!