An easy way to coat seared scallops with chopped, toasted nuts is to dip them ever-so-slightly into Dijon mustard first. This way, the nuts adhere to the scallops while the mustard adds a touch of added flavor as well. The natural sweetness of sea scallops pairs nicely with any nut variety you have on hand, but I love the buttery taste of toasted pecans the best. I like serving my pecan-crusted scallops over a simple salad of tender cannellini beans tossed together with peppery watercress— all flavored with lemon juice and some grated Pecorino Romano cheese.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Pecan-Crusted Scallops with White Bean & Watercress Salad
Ingredients:
- 8-12 large sea scallops, side muscle removed
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans
- 1 can white beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 cup dried white beans—-soaked overnight then cooked for about 1 hour in a pot of simmering water until tender, then drained)
- 2 cups watercress
- juice of 1 large lemon
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Directions:
- Season each scallop with a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick saute pan over medium-high heat, along with the butter and 1/2 Tablespoon of oil.
- Once the butter melts, add in the seasoned scallops. Cook for 1 1/2 minutes and then flip the scallops over; they should be very well browned when you flip them over. Cook an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the scallops are cooked to your liking.
- Dip each scallop in the mustard, then into the chopped nuts. Continue until all of the scallops are coated.
- Toss the room temperature (drained) white beans together with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, the watercress, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, a grinding of pepper, the lemon juice, cheese and pepper flakes.
- Serve the warm scallops over the white bean-watercress salad.
Tagged: cannellini beans, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, pecan crusted, pecan-crusted scallops, pecans, pecorino cheese, scallops, sea scallops, seared scallops, watercress, white bean and watercress salad, white beans
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