Simple Cooking - Caramelized Scallop Salad

By Anthony Todd in Food on Jan 25, 2010 5:00PM

Over the next couple of weeks, we're going to be featuring a few dishes from Marcus Samuelsson's latest cookbook, New American Table. This offering, an entree salad with caramelized scallops and a slaw laced with herbs and spicy vegetables, is a great quick meal for a weekday evening when you're looking for something light. It has more ingredients then our typical "Simple Cooking" offering, but it's not nearly as much work as you might think. Simply toss up the salad, sear the scallops and off you go!

A note about soy sauce. The original recipe called for ketjap manis, a sweet Indonesian soy sauce that we couldn't find. Instead, we just used slightly more honey and slightly less soy than the recipe calls for. Taste often, and adjust as you go.

Caramelized Scallop Salad
Adapted from New American Table by Marcus Samuelsson

1/4 head Napa cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup bean sprouts
2 scallions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 jalepeno, sliced
10 mint leaves, chopped
10 basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 lb bay scallops
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp soy sauce (see note)
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp butter
1 lime

Combine the first 9 ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Pat the scallops dry and season with salt and pepper. Saute the scallops in the olive oil over high heat for 2 minutes to sear, then add the soy and honey. Turn the scallops, and add the butter. Cook for another minute, being sure to coat the scallops in the sauce.

If the scallops are large, slice them thinly. Then, layer the salad onto a serving platter, top with the scallops and the pan juices and serve.