Thursday, August 20, 2009

Scallops provencale with orange heirlom tomatoes

I have found, and tried, several Scallops Provencale recipes. My favorite (and this is no surprise) is from The Gourmet Cookbook . The most recent time I made it I used an orange colored heirloom (called "Dad's Sunset") tomato I already had in my kitchen, and I prepared bay scallops, because they were fresh and beautiful.

My vision of Scallops Provencale really is the green/red/white image, so I wondered how using the lovely melon-colored tomato would alter this meal. The result? As I spooned the lovely orange tomato bits onto the scallops, it looked even more summery, and I half expected it to be citrusy to the taste! But oh, no, these lovely tomatoes actually made the entire dish....light and creamy....it was my favorite Scallops dish to date. What follows is my adjustment to Ruth Reichl's recipe.

Scallops Provencale

1 lb bay scallops
dash of salt
dash of pepper
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 large orange colored heirloom tomato - be daring - try with whatever variety you find! Chop the tomato up into about 1/2 inch pieces.
1/4 cup shredded basil

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Pat scallops dry, then sprinkle with salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a skillet over high heat until not, but not yet smoking. Sear the scallops, turning over once, til golden brown and cooked just through. 4 minutes tops. Transfer scallops to a platter and cover with foil, keep warm in oven.

Add a bit more olive oil to pan if needed, and lower the heat a bit, add garlic, and cook until pale (just see through). Add tomatoes, raise heat to high, cook for 2 more minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Tomato mixture goes over the scallops, top with shredded basil. Enjoy!

No comments:

Post a Comment