I’m obsessed with this dish. I served it as an appetizer at the speaker’s dinner for the WE Festival a few weeks ago and have made it for myself for dinner at least three times since then. Dress some frisee with a light vinaigrette and top with some pickled red onions and you’ve got a light meal in minutes. Seriously minutes!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (see note)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 slices pancetta
- 1 pound medium sea scallops, pat dry with a paper towel
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Directions
- Combine tomatoes, garlic, red onion, olive oil, basil, and balsamic vinaigrette in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cook pancetta in a medium cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until crisp.
- Transfer pancetta to a paper towel lined plate, coarsely chop and set pancetta aside.
- Reserve 1 tablespoon drippings in pan and increase heat to high.
- Sprinkle scallops evenly with salt and pepper. Add scallops to drippings in pan and cook 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until done. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
- When ready to serve, transfer scallops to a serving platter.
- Spoon a tiny amount (less than a teaspoon) of the tomato mixture on each scallop and sprinkle with diced pancetta.
Notes: Using a serrated knife is the easiest way to cut the tomatoes. Since tomatoes aren’t amazing right now, you could use canned tomatoes. I like to use Amy’s Organics diced tomatoes. The longer you let the tomato mixture rest, the deeper the flavors will be.
What you’ll need: A small bowl, two paper towel lined plates, and a medium cast iron skillet.
What you want to know: If divided evenly among four plates, the scallops are 160 calories, 5 g fat, 15 g protein, 5 g carbs and very little fiber and 3 Weight Watchers points. As an appetizer, two scallops are 68 calories, 2 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein, 2 grams of carbs, no fiber, and 1 Weight Watchers point.
