I absolutely love scallops. My fiance on the other hand does not. So I rarely make them. But when I found myself with a fiance-free dinner recently, it was clear what I was going to make!
This recipe for Seared Scallops with Chestnut Puree from Cooking Light makes use of winter-y ingredients such as chestnuts and blood oranges to make a simple but seemingly fancy dinner.
The scallops are seared and placed on a chestnut puree, then drizzled with a blood orange vinaigrette. I added some dandelion greens, which have a subtle bitterness to them that is a nice contrast to the sweet chestnut puree.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup packaged precooked chestnuts
- 1/2 cup packaged precooked chestnuts, finely chopped
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh blood orange juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 16 diver sea scallops (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme