Pan-fried Scallops with Bacon + Peaches
Pan-fried Scallops with Bacon + Peaches
If scallops and peaches aren't a match made in heaven, I don't know what is. This is probably the most epic late-summer dish and needs to be in your date night line up STAT!
Ingredients
- 2 lb large sea scallops
- 1 TBSP butter
- 2 peaches, pitted and sliced into rounds
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 2 slices of bacon, chopped into 1 inch strips
- A handful of shishito peppers, sliced into small rounds
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper for seasoning
- A handful of fresh basil for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 Melt butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add peach slices to the pan and sprinkle with brown sugar. Fry in the butter, flipping once, until peaches start to caramelize. Remove the peaches carefully from the pan.
- Step 2 Add the bacon and saute over medium heat. Once the strips start to crisp up, add the shishito peppers and saute together. Push the bacon and shishitos to the center of the pan, do not drain the bacon fat. The fat becomes the oil for sauteing your scallops!
- Step 3 Season your scallops generously with salt and pepper on one side. Turn the heat on the cast iron skillet to medium high. Add the scallops when the pan is hot, but not smoking.
- Step 4 Place the scallops seasoned side down, arranging clockwise around the pan. When you put the first scallop down, start a timer for 2 minutes. Avoid overcrowding the pan if you can – you may have to cook them in batches, but I had just enough room for 12 scallops. Season the unseasoned side of the scallop (facing up) while the scallops are cooking.
- Step 5 After 2 minutes, flip the scallops (they should have a golden crust) and cook for 2 minutes on the other side until they are firm but not rubbery.
- Step 6 To plate, place the peach rings on the bottom, scallops next, bacon and shishitos on top. Garnish with fresh basil.
It’s definitely NOT a secret that I’m scallop obsessed. The blog is practically an ode to them. (You think I’m kidding – just search scallop on the home page!) And there’s probably no fresher scallops than the ones we buy from our favorite stand at the farmer’s market: Pura Vida Fisheries out of Hampton Bays, NY. I have never tasted scallops so fresh, so tender and so smooth – if you cook them properly, they practically melt like butter in your mouth.
After our vacation last week and weeks of craziness at work, I was desperate for a weekend where we could kick back, relax and cook together. So we kicked it off with a trip to the farmer’s market and scored so many fresh ingredients – including kohlrabi, baby cauliflower, and yes these gorgeous peaches! We didn’t have a vision in mind quite yet, but Marc had something up his sleeve.
With these divine scallops as our base, the rest of the recipe just started coming together around it. We are in the heart of peach season, so pairing the scallops with this sweet, juicy fruit was just a no-brainer. Crispy bacon, equally simple decision. With those two ingredients, I knew we had a winner, but adding the shishitos was pure genius (Marc gets all the credit for that call!). The richness of the other ingredients were just begging for some heat to contrast and elevate the dish, but not anything too overpowering. So we sauteed the shishitos in the bacon fat and it just rounded out the dish. It may seem a little out there, but it actually brought so much harmony to the dish!
This recipe was SUCH a treat, I can’t even tell you. Literally drool-worthy. I was pretty proud of the plating too, not going to lie. I might be going out on a limb here, but in my book I think it could even be Masterchef worthy. #Goals, am i right?! I hope you guys try it out and let us know what you think!
