Pan Seared Scallops with Chorizo
Pan seared scallops make a quick and easy yet special-feeling meal. Smoky, spicy Spanish chorizo adds some complexity to scallops' sweet, mild taste, and some textural contrast too.
Calories: 271kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 grams) dry sea scallops, 10-20 (see note 1)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 ounces (85 grams) Spanish-style chorizo
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) safflower oil
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) butter
- Fresh chives to garnish
Instructions
- If your scallops still have the little piece of muscle attached to the side, remove and discard it. (Refer to video and photos above for technique.)
- Pat scallops dry with paper towels and sprinkle with pepper.
- Dice the chorizo into small cubes (about ¼-inch).
- Heat a 12-inch nonstick pan over high heat. Add chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on several sides — just a few minutes. Remove chorizo to a small bowl.
- Add oil to pan and keep over high heat. When very hot, add scallops without crowding.
- Cook 60 seconds without moving, then add butter and continue cooking until golden brown on the underside, which will probably only take about 30 seconds more.
- Use tongs to flip each scallop and cook just until done to your liking. I like to pull the pan off the heat before they're opaque in the center, which, depending on size, may mean just 30 to 60 seconds or so on the second side. You can leave them in the pan on a cold burner or trivet so that they continue cooking a bit from the residual heat.
- To serve, place a few scallops and some of the chorizo on each plate and sprinkle with chives, if using. These are great over basmati rice pilaf.
Video
Notes
- There's a lot of information in that ingredient line about scallops! Here's what it all means. You're buying one pound of scallops. They're sea scallops, not bay scallops. (Bay scallops are much smaller and typically used in different types of dishes.) They're "dry," meaning they haven't been injected with a chemical solution to plump them up. (Dry scallops both taste way better and sear way better.) And they're "10-20," which means there are 10 to 20 of them in a pound. (This tells you about what size they'll be.)
- Spanish-style chorizo is a dry-cured sausage that's already fully cooked, and it's totally different from Mexican-style chorizo. If you don't do pork, you can leave it out and still have a phenomenal meal.
- Safflower oil is my high-smoke-point, neutral-tasting vegetable oil of choice. You can substitute another oil that has similar properties, such as canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, or vegetable oil blend.
- I usually serve these scallops perched atop a bed of basmati rice pilaf. They'd be equally good over lemony orzo or brown butter white bean purée.
- This recipe is extremely quick to make, and it's at its best shortly after cooking. I don't recommend going out of your way to make it in advance. That said, leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in a nice, cold fridge for a week. You can reheat them gently on the stovetop, or even at half power in the microwave just until warmed through.
Nutrition
Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.5g | Protein: 26.8g | Fat: 15.4g