What do I love? Seafood. Basil. Cheese. Sun dried tomatoes. Wine. Yes, you’ve got it right. This recipe just happens to check every single one of those boxes (admittedly, the wine was in my glass). This is no coincidence, my friends – no, not the wine part. The ingredients. This was a calculated decision to combine everything amazing into one incredible dinner. Not only was this absolutely delicious – it comes together so, so easily! Saturday night fabulous with weeknight ease: perfection (yes, we’ve been over this, I overuse this word way too much. Or I’m just over enthusiastic about food. Because food is amazing. Yep.). We served a roasted garlic cauliflower puree as a side dish and it was beautiful harmony. How could delicious and delicious not be harmonious, right? Now, enough stalling, let us begin our masterpiece.
Seared Shrimp and Scallops with a Sun Dried Tomato Pesto:
- 10 jumbo sea scallops
- 1/2 pound jumbo shrimp
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 dry white wine
- 1 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons oil (from the jar packed with sun dried tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup basil
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
First, remove the side muscle from the sea scallops and peel/devein your shrimp. Then, between paper towels, dry until all moisture has been removed. Season with salt and pepper.
In a food processor, combine the sun dried tomatoes, oil, basil, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
Puree until your desired consistency has been reached. Set aside.
Turning to the seafood: I chose to cook the shrimp and scallops in two separate saute pans. I’m a little (okay, maybe a lot) nuerotic about creating a golden-brown crust on the sea scallops and enjoy cooking the shrimp in butter, white wine and garlic – thus, I chose to cook them separately (and I was able to do it simultaneously because my wonderful sous chef oversaw the shrimp while I tended to the scallops).
For the shrimp, combine one clove of garlic (minced), white wine and one tablespoon butter in a medium saute pan. When hot, add the shrimp and saute for about 4-5 minutes or until opaque. Careful not to over cook the shrimplets.
For the scallops, heat one tablespoon of butter and two tablespoons of olive oil in a medium saute pan. When hot (hot enough to brown the scallops), add the scallops.
Cook for roughly four minutes each side.
Remove the shrimp and scallops from heat and plate this seafood heaven. As I mentioned before, I plated mine over a roasted garlic cauliflower puree.
Dress these beauties up with a little bit (or a lot, if you’re like me) of the gorgeous sun dried tomato pesto and there you have it: amazingness.
Ah, yes. I know what you’re thinking: this fabulous dinner deserves an equally fabulous wine (or wait, is that what I was thinking?). Well, they say great minds think alike, so we have to be on to something. My personal choice? The 2007 Bridlewood Estate Chardonnay. Soft, creamy and luscious. Just like the scallops. Yum.
Cheers!
