Kalyn's Kitchen CooksThe Best Recipes in the WorldSauteed Scallops with Garlic (France)

I am still working my way through Mark Bittman's wonderful new cookbook, The Best Recipes in the World. In this book Bittman experiments with the best dishes from countries all around the world, and then presents them in a way that home cooks can duplicate. Bittman's famous "minimalist" cooking style, where he doesn't fuss, but does just enough fancy preparation to make the food memorable, really shines in a dish like this. Scallops can be a little tricky to cook at home, since they are so easily overcooked. Overcooking turns them rubbery and tasteless, so be careful. I live in Utah where it would be difficult or extremely expensive to get fresh scallops, but I used frozen scallops from Costco to make this (thawed in the refrigerator) and they were very good.

There are three kinds of scallops. The large ones like I used are sea scallops, always best cooked slightly underdone. Medium sized scallops are bay scallops, considered the most tasty, especially when they are caught wild. Calico scallops are the tiny ones you might see being breaded and deep fried in a fish and chips place; personally I don't think they have any flavor at all compared to the other two types.

I did dredge these in a tiny, tiny bit of white flour to get them nice and browned. Please do not call the South Beach Diet police. The total amount of flour in one serving would be well under a teaspoon of flour. If you're concerned about fat, most of the butter and olive oil is left in the pan.

SAUTEED SCALLOPS WITH GARLIC
from The Best Recipes in the World
(2 servings)

8 large sea scallops or about 1 pound bay scallops
2 T flour for dredging (most will be left on the plate)
1 T good quality olive oil
1 T butter
salt/pepper to taste
1-2 tsp. finely minced fresh garlic
parsley, for garnish
fresh lemon slices to squeeze over if desired
(I did eat it with the lemon, which was my only real change to the recipe)

Dry scallops gently with paper towel. Put oil in medium frying pan and turn on heat to medium. Add butter, and while butter melts, dredge each scallop in flour on both sides. When butter is starting to foam, add scallops to pan. Cook until scallops are barely browned on both sides and starting to feel firm, but not until they feel completely firm, about 2 minutes per side for the initial browning. (This will depend on the thickness of your scallops. Mine were quite thick.)

When both sides are browned slightly, add garlic, lower heat a little, season with salt and pepper as desired, and cook about 2 minutes more, either stirring or shaking the pan so the garlic is well distributed around all the scallops. Garnish with parsley and serve hot, with lemon slices if desired.

I was planning to make these for dinner for my friend Georgette, but when she arrived I found out she was allergic to scallops. I also have a couple of sisters who are allergic to shellfish. I feel sad for them, since thick scallops like this are one of my favorite foods, something I would be likely to order in a seafood restaurant. However, if you make the scallops you could still serve them with Georgette's Really Lemony Greek Pilafi in her honor. This yummy rice plus Mary's Perfect Salad would be a great dinner combination.

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