Scallops with Basil Pesto

If you join a CSA, be prepared to get some basil. And I mean, a whole lotta basil. My CSA basket contains enough fresh basil every week to make a heart-healthy batch, so much I’m considering a small business. jk *winks

If you don’t have a CSA in your hood, then get ye some basil seeds! It will flourish in a window garden or in the ground. If you plant in the ground, add a few marigold plants around the basil to ward off the critters.

Every summer, I make numerous batches of basil pesto. I love to mix up my variety and nuts. I’ve used pine nuts, walnuts, pecans, and pistachio. I’ve grown Thai sweet basil, Licorice basil, Genovese basil, Lemon basil, and Spicy Global basil.

Basil Pesto is one of those sauces that complements seafood, flatbread, chicken, and beef. Dip warm bread into a bowl of basil pesto and olive oil for an appetizer, or go ahead and make a meal out of it. Add a chunk of blue cheese and a hearty red. Hello, dinner on the fly. Elevate your pesto with crushed red peppers flakes for a pop of heat. Toss a few spoonfuls of basil pesto with pasta, kalamata olives, tomatoes, banana peppers, artichoke hearts, and you’re eating in under thirty minutes. Make a big batch for leftovers.

My favorite way to eat pesto is with seafood because you don’t need much and seafood cooks fast—a win in my book every day of the week.

Scallops with Basil Pesto Recipe

Scallop Buying Tips

“Fresh” scallops at the market are previously frozen scallops, unless you live near the coast, or harvest your own. I buy my scallops frozen and keep them in the freezer until I’m ready to cook. If you live nowhere near the ocean, like me, you should buy frozen, too. If you’re going to cook the same day, then buy fresh. Remove your frozen scallops from the freezer the night before.

Dry vs. Wet

“Dry” scallops have no added chemicals. “Wet” scallops are soaked in sodium triphosphate and as a result, will shrink when cooked.

Basil Pesto

½ cup toasted nuts (your choice)

2 cups fresh basil

2 garlic cloves, or 1/2 teaspoon powdered garlic

Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

½ cup olive oil, plus more for freezing

½ cup shredded Parmesan, plus more if desired

Directions

In a food processor, pulse the toasted nuts a few times to break them up. Add the basil, salt, and pepper, garlic, and pulse on high for several seconds. Stop and scrape down the sides, then run the processor again, adding the olive oil, a little at a time. Again, stop and scrape down the sides.
Place the pesto in a small bowl, add the cheese, and stir. A little pesto goes a long way. Portion and freeze any unused pesto. Before you freeze, add a thin layer of olive oil over the top.
Set the table, have salad prepared, pasta, or rice-whatever you are serving with your scallops. It takes mere minutes to cook scallops. And that’s for large (the size of a golf ball), less for smaller scallops.

Cook the Scallops

2-3 scallops per person, more if they’re small, or you’re really hangry

Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

several tablespoons cooking oil (canola, vegetable, sunflower), divided per batch

Directions

Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel. Remove the “foot,” the small muscle flap on the side of the scallop, and discard. (See photo above.)
Season both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add a little oil. I use canola, vegetable, coconut, or sunflower. Swirl to coat the bottom of the skillet.
Place the scallops in the skillet, reduce the heat to medium, and if there is one thing you pay attention to, it should be right here: don’t touch the scallops for two minutes. Less for smaller. This is the point when the scallops caramelize. Turn and cook one minute to finish. Remove the scallops from the heat and the pan immediately otherwise they’ll continue to cook. An overcooked scallop is a tough, rubbery scallop.
Plop a small amount of pesto on the top, or underneath each scallop. Grate a little Parmesan over the top, if desired. Serve immediately.