Scallops & Cherry Tomatoes with Caper Butter Sauce

I found this recipe in my email this morning from a newsletter I get from The Prep at Eating Well. I was intrigued by the time it would take to make the recipe and the calorie count. 20 minutes to prepare and under 400 calories! The reviews from the other side of the table were favorable.

The newsletter recommended Zucchini Zoodles Cacio e Pepe. I love Cacio e Pepe but had never tried Zucchini Zoodles. Well, I made the recipe and found out I am not a fan of Zoodles. Next!

The recipe also recommended polenta to soak up the sauce. I made that too and that was a good suggestion. And yes I use instant Polenta.

This is the original recipe from EatingWell.com.
I cut the recipe in 1/2 and there was plenty for both of us. 

And enough for Lucy who seems to love scallops!

Ingredients-
1 pound dry sea scallops, tough side muscle removed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
1-pint cherry tomatoes
½ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Method-
Pat scallops dry. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallops and cook, flipping once, until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
 
Add tomatoes to the pan and cook, stirring once, until browned on one side and starting to burst, 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine and capers; cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits until the wine is reduced by half, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter and pepper. Serve the sauce over the scallops, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Seared Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce

There are a couple of things I am scared to make for dinner. A roast. It is such a large piece of meat. I find it intimidating. The other dish is scallops. Chris loves scallops and they are so easy to overcook. They have been a stressful dish for me to try. Until now...

These scallops, which were on sale at Big Y this week (!!), are the only way I will cook scallops from this day forward. 10 minutes!!! The sear was spot on. The cook was, even Gordon Ramsey would say, A Perfect 10!!!

 I found this recipe on the Completely Delish site.
 

Seared Scallops with Lemon Butter Sauce
Ingredients-
1 lb large sea scallops
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
Juice of half a lemon

Instructions-
Pat scallops dry with a paper towel and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
Melt butter in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add thyme.
Add scallops seasoned side down and cook without disturbing for 3-4 minutes until well browned.
Flip scallops over and cook until browned, about 2-3 minutes. While scallops are cooking, spoon the butter over the tops to infuse more flavor.
Squeeze lemon juice over the scallops and serve.

Scallop Piccata with Sautéed Spinach

Wow, wow, wow! This was so good. Or was it that I was just so hungry? No it was good.
I bought nice big scallops, U/10s. And I cooked them perfectly, was nervous that I would over cook them but did not! The whole wheat pasta was a nice change. It tasted healthy! And the spinach, well I enjoyed it.

From Cooking Light, Scallop Piccata with Sauteed Spinach

Ingredients -
1 1/2 pounds sea scallops (about 12)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 cup vermouth
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons capers
1 (10-ounce) package fresh baby spinach

Method -
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper over scallops. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add scallops; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned and done. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Reduce heat to medium. Add chopped garlic to pan; cook 10 seconds. Add vermouth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat. Add parsley, fresh lemon juice, butter, and capers, stirring until butter melts. Pour sauce in a bowl.

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add spinach; saute 30 seconds or until spinach almost wilts. Drizzle sauce over scallops; serve with spinach.

Serve over whole wheat linguine.