Sea Scallops with Egg Noodles

A bowl of egg noodles with jumbo sea scallops

Serves 2

Loraine and I have a passion for deep sea scallops, the jumbo variety U10 (10 scallops to a pound). They have such a naturally sweet flavor, that, in our opinion, require very little seasoning. Many recipes call for the addition of cheese or numerous spices and fresh and/or dried herbs that it completely swamps the flavor of the scallops. Considering that the jumbo deep sea scallops cost more than fillet mignon it is almost a sin to hide their flavor.

Our only seasoning for the scallops is sea salt and freshly ground white pepper. We use a combination of butter and olive oil for frying, which does provide some additional flavor to the scallops.

The key to cooking is a very hot skillet and a very short cooking time. The oil and butter should be just about to smoke when you put the scallops in the pan. Ninety seconds on each side should produce a golden brown appearance. Do not play with the scallops while they are cooking. Place them in the skillet and allow them to cook for the 90 seconds before turning them over.

We serve the scallops over some buttered egg noodles that has been very lightly sprinkled with an Italian spice blend.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Note: Timing is very important in this recipe. You need to have the scallops and noodles ready at the same time.
  2. Have the salted water boiling for the noodles.
  3. Calculate the time to cook the noodles and the time to cook the scallops. Don't forget to allow time for the oil and 2 tablespoons of butter to get hot in the skillet.
  4. This is our timing: The dried noodles we use take 8 minutes. After they have cooked for 4 minutes we turn the skillet with the olive oil and butter on to medium high.
  5. Dry the scallops (remove the scallops muscle if they are still on the scallops) on a paper towel and season one side with salt and pepper.
  6. At the 6 minute mark (noodle cooking time) we place the scallops in the skillet (the oil and butter should be very hot), seasoned side down. Season the top side of the scallops with salt and pepper.
  7. Cook for 90 seconds, they should be golden brown on the bottom. Flip the scallops over and cook for another 90 seconds.
  8. One minute before the scallops are finished the noodles should be cooked. Drain into a clean bowl, add the 2 tablespoons of butter and the Italian seasoning. You have 1 minute to accomplish this task!
  9. At this point the scallops should be cooked. Remove them from the skillet and place on the noodles. Pour the butter, olive oil from the skillet over the top of the scallops and noodles.
  10. Enjoy!

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