I’m off to a good start with cooking more seafood in 2019. Since January 1st I have made tuna steaks (again), salmon, and tried cooking pan-seared scallops for the first time. I am amazed at how simple seafood is to cook! I made 8 scallops for this recipe because I was serving them as an appetizer to my tuna steaks, but you can easily modify to serve as the main course and pair with a shaved Brussels sprouts salad, marinated cucumber salad, or any other vegetable.
Searing the scallops mean you have to cook them on a higher heat (medium-high). Because of this, you want to use an oil with high smoke points. Olive, canola and grapeseed oils have moderately high smoke points, making them good for sautéing over medium-high heat. For reference, I have used both canola and olive oil to sear seafood and both have worked well.
Shopping List
- 8-10 sea scallops
- Canola or olive oil spray (I get mine from Trader Joe’s)
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Remove the scallops from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to cooking. Pat dry the scallops with a paper towel.
- Season both sides of the scallops with salt and pepper.
- Preheat a non-stick pan to medium-high heat and spray the bottom generously with canola or olive oil spray and add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Make sure to add the oil before the pan gets too hot or it may cause flames.
- Once the pan is heated (you will notice it start to smoke and sizzle) add the scallops in a single layer and cook for 1 1/2 minute on each side.
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