Recipes, re-invented from cooking shows

Easy Pan-Seared Scallops with Crispy Bacon

Name: Easy Pan-Seared Scallops with Crispy Bacon
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

Prep. Time:

15 minutes

Baking Time:

30 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Serves:

4 servings

A weeknight-friendly take on Jessica and Jesse's MasterChef duo dish - same surf-and-turf flavour notes (sweet corn, salty pork, sharp pickle, sour apple, bitter brassica) rebuilt around ingredients you can buy and cook in a single afternoon. Bacon stands in for braised pork belly, a quick cider red...

Often, our recipes are complicated, to achieve "television ready" dishes. If you would like a version you can easily make at home, please just ask.

Ingredients

FOR THE APPLE CIDER DRIZZLE:
1 cup apple cider (the cloudy unfiltered kind, not vinegar)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
Pinch of salt

FOR THE CHARRED BRUSSELS SPROUTS:
10 oz Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
1 tbsp neutral oil
Salt

FOR THE CRISPY BACON:
6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces

FOR THE RUSTIC CREAMED CORN:
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 lb (about 3 cups) frozen sweet corn, thawed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp honey
Salt to taste

FOR THE SEARED SCALLOPS:
12 large sea scallops, side muscle removed
2 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable or grapeseed)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Flaky sea salt and black pepper

TO FINISH:
1/4 cup pickled jalapeno slices, from a jar

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Instructions

START THE APPLE CIDER DRIZZLE (it can simmer while you do everything else):
1. Combine the apple cider, vinegar, brown sugar and pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. A small pan controls reduction better than a wide one.
2. Let it bubble away on its own for 12-15 minutes, until reduced by about three-quarters and lightly syrupy. Pull off the heat and set aside (it will thicken a bit more as it cools).

CHAR THE BRUSSELS SPROUTS:
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the halved sprouts cut-side down in a single layer. Don't crowd the pan - work in two batches if needed (steam is the enemy of char).
4. Cook undisturbed for 4-5 minutes until the cut sides are deep golden-brown. Flip, season with salt, and cook another 2-3 minutes until tender. Tip onto a plate and set aside.

CRISP THE BACON:
5. Wipe out the same skillet and add the bacon pieces over medium heat. Cook 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deeply crisp. Lift out with a slotted spoon onto a paper-towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat - keep the pan; you'll sear scallops in it shortly.

MAKE THE RUSTIC CREAMED CORN:
6. In a separate medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the chopped shallot and cook 2 minutes until soft.
7. Add the corn and cook 4 minutes, stirring. Pour in the cream, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook 3 more minutes until the corn is tender and the cream has thickened slightly.
8. Transfer about two-thirds of the corn mixture to a blender (or use an immersion blender right in the pan). Blend until mostly smooth, then stir back into the remaining whole kernels. Add the honey, season with salt, and keep warm on the lowest heat. Leaving some whole kernels gives texture and means you skip straining entirely.

SEAR THE SCALLOPS:
9. Pat the scallops bone-dry with paper towels - both sides, really dry. Season with salt and pepper just before they hit the pan. Wet scallops will steam, not sear; this single step matters more than any other.
10. Return the bacon-fat skillet to high heat and add the 2 tablespoons of neutral oil. When the oil is shimmering and just starting to smoke, lay the scallops in flat-side down with at least an inch between each. Don't move them.
11. Sear undisturbed for exactly 2 minutes until a deep golden crust forms. Flip, add the 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan, and cook 1-2 minutes more, tilting the pan to spoon the foaming butter over the scallops as they finish.
12. Transfer to a plate, squeeze over the lemon juice, and let them rest for 1 minute.

PLATE:
13. Spoon a generous bed of creamed corn onto each of 4 warm plates.
14. Arrange 3 scallops per plate on top, tuck the charred sprouts and crispy bacon around them, and scatter a few pickled jalapeno slices over.
15. Drizzle the apple cider reduction around the plate in loose ribbons. Finish with flaky salt and serve immediately. Warm the plates first - even 30 seconds in a low oven keeps everything hot all the way to the table.