I have been reveling in the quality of both the sea and bay scallops that I have been getting at Pura Vida Seafood from Suffolk County, Log Island at the Troy Farmers Market. I made this as an appetizer course recently to celebrate my eldest son's being home from college.This would do well on a holiday menu.
Ingredients:
Sea Scallops (preferably diver) 1lb
Spinach 8oz cleaned
Parmiggiano-Reggiano 4oz in small chunks
Heavy Cream 2oz
Pine Nuts 2oz toasted
Pimentón 0.4oz
garlic 2 large cloves roasted or pan-fried until just brown
Butter 1oz
salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Wilt the spinach over medium heat then combine with all the other ingredients except scallops and butter in a narrow container and puree with a stick blender or use a food processer to achieve a nice smooth blend.
Spoon the mixture into 8 small ramekins making sure that it is evenly apportioned.
Place the filled ramekins in the hot oven for 5 minutes.
While the ramekins are baking, pan-sear the scallops in the brown butter so that both sides are nicely seared and sprinkle with fleur de sel or other high quality salt and fresh ground pepper per your preference.
Remove the ramekins from the oven and portion the scallops evenly amongst them. For additional holiday cheer, halved grape tomatoes or julienned piquillo peppers can be added on top along with the scallops.
If one isn't comfortable using the cream, good olive oil can be substituted to make a variation of a spinach pesto. Both work well.
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