Scallop Au Gratin'ish

Making an amazing appy or light dinner with style!

I love scallops but I usually default to a lemon white wine fake butter sauce (since I can't eat dairy)! But I've been self isolating so I figured I would step up my creativity to keep from getting bored.

Pinterest is amazing for ideas and I love the inspiration I get from seeing all of the posts! I came across the Barefoot Contessa... do I need to say I love her? #barefootcontessa And she did a Bay Scallop Gratin that looked amazing. But I can't just "follow the recipe" and put it on a blog!! and what with the isolation time on my hands.. the "thinking time" was a plenty! Here is what I came up with.

I shop predominantly at Superstore and I don't think that is a secret if you follow me... So I do love the Nova Scotia Scallops from their Blue Menu Line. They are huge! and often on sale for under $16

So I defrosted these beauties and started to sear them in my earth balance spread and avocado oil and garlic powder. The trick to a great scallop is a nice outside sear but not over cooking the inside, a balance I have not always mastered, but a goal for sure! I'll spoil it and say that I nailed it this night!

Once the nice browning occurred I added some white wine, fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt and pepper to the mix and covered to essentially steam the scallops further but not completely!

I have mentioned previously that my husband makes his own bacon! It is delicious and free from all of the usual chemicals and additives that you find in store bought bacon. For the recipe on how to make the bacon itself, check out …. https://www.c2lifestyle.org/post/making-a-blt-breakfast-bagel-but-we-made-the-bacon-too

So I used my husbands bacon which was oven baked to crispy perfection before their dance with the scallops and wine!

Now I intended to make this my dinner so I felt the need to add some veggies... but what blends well to this delicious concoction? I looked in the fridge and ahh yes.... zucchinin and mushrooms... nice!

Once the two elements were cooked I combined them in small ramekins and covered with breadcrumbs. I did not have any dairy free cheese but if I did I would have considered it! and if you do not worry about dairy ….a Havarti or a Brie (I think) would likely add to the flavor if delicately placed on top prior to the breadcrumbs. Needless to say, no cheese was still delicious and an excellent calorie deficiency for a low cal meal! I placed the ramikan's under the broiler for less that 10 minutes checking constantly to get a nice crisp browning to the crumbs! I paired this with fresh sourdough to sop up the juices!

The recipe:

20-40 large scallops

Sauté in a pan with butter or alternative, garlic and some high heat oil until brown.

Once browned add 1 cup of white wine, the juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. Also add previously cooked and chopped bacon to the pan. Cover and simmer until scallops are nearing cooked to your liking. Set aside.

In another pan place sliced white mushrooms and zucchini with some high heat oil and sauté until tender.

Layer the veggies below with scallop, bacon mix on top with the remaining jus, sprinkle with bread crumbs and if you choose some cheese. Broil on high for less that 10 minutes... on the lower rack... watch this consistently because all oven's are different and you don't want to ruin these at the final stage!

Serve with your favorite bread or bun! and enjoy!