Suzi Sells Stonington Sea Scallops to Serve in the Shell

Last weekend's farmers' market (Coventry, CT) was buzzing with new vendors, among them Suzi's Seafood. It was the large sea scallops, caught locally in Stonington, CT, that called to us, and we bought a pound. Suzi had a recipe suggestion, copies of "Scallops on the Half Shell" from Alton Brown. She even had complimentary shells on which to serve them, so we went for it. We even made up our own tongue-twister (see post title).

The fresh scallops were huge, tender and succulent. For the tomatoes, we only need one (it was a big one, though!) of the heirlooms from our garden. While we've forgotten the exact variety, it has the oranges and reds of a gorgeous sunset, and tasted very sweet. Finally, we substituted panko for regular breadcrumbs. Overall, we loved the ease and freshness of this light, tasty dish.

Ingredients (adapted from Alton Brown, 2005):

1 pound sea scallops

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt (separated)

2 cups panko style breadcrumbs

1 large tomato, chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Rinse the scallops with cold water and thoroughly pat them dry. Melt the butter in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted add the garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and toss in the bread crumbs until well combined. Set aside. In a small bowl, toss together the chopped tomato, parsley and the remaining salt. Evenly divide the tomato mixture between 8 large scallop shells (or oven-proof ramekins). Place the scallops over the tomato mixture and top with the bread crumbs. Bake in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve immediately.