Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Seared Scallops with Pomegranate "Sauce"


About two months ago I found this recipe online for Seared Scallops with Pomegranate Sauce. I love pomegranates, and I really love scallops (as in, I order them whenever I see them on a menu), so it made sense that I saved the recipe and planned on making it ASAP. Well, ASAP didn't come soon enough, and it took me until 2012 to finally gather the ingredients and get to work! It was well worth the wait.

Seared Scallops with Pomegranate Sauce
(Serves 3)
Ingredients
  • 2 pomegranates, for the juice (I didn't like the idea of juicing a pomegranate, so I used pomegranate juice, 1 cup)
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Dash of ground red pepper
  • 1 1/2 pounds sea scallops
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil (I used 2 tsp butter, because scallops taste better with butter!)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar (I used Truvia just to cut down on the sugar content)
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 cups trimmed watercress (about 1 bunch)
  • 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds (about 1 pomegranate)

Preparation

  1. Combine 1 cup pomegranate juice, vinegar, soy sauce, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, and red pepper in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until reduced by half (about 15 minutes), stirring frequently. Keep warm.
  2. Rinse scallops; pat dry. Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with salt, sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Add scallops to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done.
  3. Arrange 1/2 cup watercress on each of 6 plates; divide scallops evenly among plates. Drizzle each serving with about 1 tablespoon sauce; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons seeds.
I made this recipe with my friend Janan, and a few issues arose during our preparation. First, we purchased the wrong kind of pomegranate juice. It wasn't true POM juice and we believe it was watered down, therefore the "sauce" was more like a liquid (as you can see from the photo). If you make this, use POM juice! Also, the original recipe said it served 6 people....well, if this were to have served 6 people they would have been left pretty darn hungry. We each had about three scallops, and there were three of us (including Nick). There were two scallops leftover (which I actually ended up eating later that night...). Also, I hadn't thought to serve this with a grain (duh Gina!) but we decided that if we were to make this again it would taste great served with a flavorful grain like quinoa or even wheat berries.

QUESTION: Have you ever made a dish that says it's supposed to serve a larger amount of people than it actually serves?? Do people test these things?!?!

15 comments :

  1. I hate when recipes do that! Some are SO off, as in too small or too big. The scallops look delicious and I'm totally with you...butter is better than oil when cooking them and I love to get them on a menu! :)

    Have a great week, girl!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOVE scallops. these look so good. i'd eat them with wheatberries...love :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like scallops a lot but still haven't made them at home. They have been on my list forever... Your recipe sounds good!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love seared scallops. My parents will occasionally make them for me when I visit. I just read an article that said they're expected to jump in price soon, which makes me bummed!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I hate recipes that give you teeny-tiny portions! I think sometimes it's for magazines so that the nutritional information looks better - a smaller amount of calories and fat per serve, for example. I've never used pomegranate in cooking before, but its beautiful I'll have to give it a go!

    ReplyDelete
  6. omg agreeeeeed scallops taste like PERFECTION with butter! haha i always do that like boomark a recipe and say to make it asap and then like 3 months later i'm like mayyybe i should make this now haha

    ReplyDelete
  7. Personally I think many recipes say they serve more people than they do, especially because they don't take into account how much additional food you may or may not make! :)

    These sound delicious though. I think I made some other fish with a pom sauce, but now I can't remember what it was. I used to eat scallops all the time, I need to bring them back into my life!

    ReplyDelete
  8. So, did you get a new camera...or was this just saved from the old one? Either way...the photo captures how AWESOME this must taste! I have NEVER made scallops at home although I sure love then! I could prob. eat a ton too...definitely lessening that portion size :)
    Good post, Gina!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good thing you were not actually trying to feed 6 people! That would not be good, and could be embarrassing depending on who you were with!
    The dish does look really good though!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks yummy and kind of fancy too! Whenever I've ordered scallops in a restaurant it seems like they give you only about 3 large ones. Were yours smaller than usual?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hmmmm. Maybe that recipe intended it to be served as an appetizer? Then 6 serving would be just about perfect. It looks fantastic. If I trusted my cooking skills at all I would be all over it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. This looks so yummy Gina! Glad you finally got around to making the recipe. I just had some Thai curry scallops the other night-they were fabulous! I can completely relate to not having enough food to feed everyone...especially with two hungry kids and one hungry husband!

    ReplyDelete
  13. This looks amazing - I also order scallops whenever I am out.

    I love pomegranates as well - I keep forgetting to buy them at the store though. Need to add them to my grocery list ASAP!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yes, all the time!!! Especially with our ferocious cycling appetites I eat a bit more than what one serving calls for. I've learned to always double recipes :) Love scallops! I'm surprised it didn't thicken up more when you reduced it down?

    ReplyDelete
  15. i made scallops last night too. this is a much more adventurous dish! i will have to try :)

    ReplyDelete