Seared scallops with bacon, mixed greens, lime vinaigrette

Finally, a real recipe on this blog. This is a simple, tasty one I got from my good friend, Brian Green. The sweetness of the scallops, the saltiness of the bacon, and the brightness of the lime come together like a Voltron of flavor.

Try to find dry scallops, which kick the sh*t out of wet scallops. Wet scallops are soaked in a solution of sodium triphosphate, a preservative that makes them absorb water. They won't sear as well and aren't as fresh. If you can't find the dry variety, which can be hard to track down, just use the freshest scallops available.

Ingredients (serves 2, but easy to scale up)

4 sea scallops

2 slices of bacon (~2 oz.), pancetta also works

2 large handfuls mixed salad greens (~3 oz.)

1 lime

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

butter (if necessary)

• Dice bacon and cook over low heat in heavy bottom pan.
• While the bacon is rendering, zest and juice the lime. Whisk in olive oil, ~3 parts oil to lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.
• Once the bacon is almost finished, lightly dress the greens with vinaigrette and split among two plates. Reserve some vinaigrette for later.
  
• When the bacon is crispy, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Pat the scallops very dry. Remove the tough adductor muscle if present. Score the scallops in a diamond pattern using a sharp knife, with cuts about a cm apart and about a half cm deep. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
• If there's not enough bacon fat to cover the pan, add some butter. Then, crank up the heat to high until the fat is smoking.
• Add scallops to pan, leaving plenty of room between each one. Allow to brown for ~2 min. Resist the urge to flip or move them before a nice crust develops. Turn scallops and brown the second side, again for about 2 min.
• When done, the scallops should be about as firm as medium rare steak, meaning not very firm. They'll be nice and crusty on the outside and pink in the middle.
  
• Plate two scallops on top of each bed of dressed salad. Add crispy bacon pieces and drizzle some vinaigrette on top.