Light & Healthy, Part 1

This weekend was a weekend of gluttony for Hubs and me. Too much eating out, pizza (albeit homemade), barbecues, and junk food; and not enough fruits and veggies. We decided that Sunday dinner had to be a healthy one.

It was tempting not to eat out again, especially with the huge African-American Odunde Festival right down our block in South Philly. The smells from their cookouts kept wafting into our apartment.. mmmm. But I stuck to my plan of a healthy Sunday dinner, and it worked! All it took was a little rummaging in the kitchen and a quick trip to Trader Joe's (thank goodness it's just a 20-minute walk away).

Our menu for the night, to come in three parts:
Part 1. Pan-Seared Scallops, seasoned with salt & pepper and lightly dipped in soy sauce
Part 2. Couscous Salad
Part 3. Baby Arugula and Pear Salad, drizzled in orange muscat champagne vinegar

Pan-Seared Scallops 

*Note: this recipe was a combination of several recipes I found online. I wasn't satisfied with any single one (which is often the case), so I just learned from the general "themes" and paved my own scallopy path. Good thing scallops are easy to cook with.

You need:

• 1 pound sea scallops 
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• 2-3 teaspoons olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste (I used lemon pepper)
• Soy sauce to taste

Rinse the scallops and pat them dry with paper towels. It's important for the surface of the scallops to be dry when searing them. Apparently, excess moisture is an enemy of searing since it produces a steaming effect.

I seasoned both sides of the scallops with salt and lemon pepper, and left it for about 30 minutes. Then right before putting them on the pan, I poured some soy sauce on the plate so the undersides of the scallops would just briefly get soaked.

Put the butter and oil in your pan and turn it on high heat. You want to sear your scallops at high temperatures so it doesn't overcook, and the outsides get crispy while the insides stay moist and tender.

Once the butter and oil starts smoking, set the scallops on the pan, soy sauce side up!

The timing here is crucial. I seared each side for about 2 minutes, and only flipped once.

The result was wonderful. It paired so well with the couscous, and hubs kept commenting on how tender and flavorful these were!

Things I would change:

• I didn't expect the oil to start popping like crazy when we first put the scallops in. Good thing hubs was hovering around me, so I got him to quickly find a pot lid to shield ourselves from the oil. Next time, I'll have that shield ready so my arms don't get burned!
• Soy sauce is salty, and so is salt. (How profound.) Next time I'm not gonna salt the side that receives the soy sauce. 

Give this a try! It's so simple and tastes so good :)