I recently made a dish that was so delicious that I just had to share it. Pan fried sea scallops in a garlic and chili cream sauce with pearl couscous and fried green onions. This was pure heaven. I encourage you to taste the sauce while you are cooking and adjust the seasoning as needed.
| PREP TIME | COOKING TIME | TOTAL TIME |
|---|---|---|
| 20 minutes | 20 minutes | 40 minutes |
YIELD: 4 Servings
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs sea scallops
- 2 tbsp olive oil separated (one for scallops and the other for green onions)
- ½ cup white wine
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ habanero chili pepper, minced
- ½ pint heavy cream
- 1 tsp powdered beef broth
- 1 tsp powdered lobster broth
- 1 cup pearl couscous (Israeli couscous)
- 2 bunches green onions, stem cut away and rinsed
- 3-4 cherry tomatoes for garnish, sliced
- ½ cup pine nuts for garnish
How to Make It
- Bring 1½ cups of water to a boil in a small sauce pot. Add the couscous, cover and let simmer 8-10 minutes. Stir and add salt to taste. Turn off the heat and let it stand in the sauce pot with the lid on for 5 minutes.
- Rinse the scallops and remove the “vein” on the side and discard. Pat the scallops dry.
- Heat a pan to medium high, add 1 tbsp olive oil and fry the scallops for 1 minute on each side. They should be a little browned but not fully cooked.
- Remove the scallops from the pan.
- Add minced garlic, minced habanero peppers and white wine to the pan and deglaze it by scraping the bits off the bottom.
- Add the beef and lobster broth powder and stir for 20 seconds.
- Add the heavy cream and let it simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce starts to thicken. Taste and add more broth if needed.
- Add the scallops back into the pan and let simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Heat a pan to medium high and add 1 tbsp of olive oil.
- Add the green onions and fry for 5-6 minutes, add salt to taste.
- Heat a small pan to medium high and add the pine nuts. Toast for 2-3 minutes moving around constantly until golden brown, add salt to taste.
- To plate, add the couscous, top with scallops, drizzle with sauce and garnish with green onions, pine nuts and sliced cherry tomatoes.
