Name: Cast Iron Scallops
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 5 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: General
Ingredients: 8 Sea Scallops; muscle removed and scallops dried 1 Tbsp. Patricia and Paul’s Wild Anithos Dill Olive Oil 1 Tbsp. Unsalted butter 1 Tsp. Fresh dill; chopped Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper Thinly sliced lemon wheels

YIELDS:

2 servings

PREP TIME:

0 hours 2 mins

COOK TIME:

0 hours 5 mins

TOTAL TIME:

0 hours 7 mins

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ingredients

8 Sea Scallops, muscle removed and scallops dried
1 Tbsp. Patricia and Paul’s Wild Anithos Dill Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Unsalted butter
1 Tsp. Fresh dill, chopped
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Thinly sliced lemon wheels

DIRECTIONS

1) Prep your scallops by removing the tough connector muscle. Dry the scallops with paper towel.

2) Sprinkle the scallops on both sides with salt and fresh ground black pepper.

3) In small cast iron skillets, divide the olive oil and heat until really hot but not smoking. Add the scallops and let get golden brown. (About two-three minutes.) Carefully, flip over and cook on the other sides until brown.

4) Divide and add the butter to the skillets and baste the scallops. Sprinkle the scallops with the fresh chopped dill.

5) Serve in the mini cast iron skillets with the lemon wheels.

NOTES: Simplicity at its best. Scallops are seared in cast iron skillets for a golden brown exterior with a soft succulent middle. They are seasoned simply with salt and pepper, dill flavored olive oil and butter, dill and lemon. That’s it. A handful of ingredients transform this incredible shellfish into a delicious bite.

Cooking scallops in a cast iron skillet is the key to that dark, golden brown sear on the outside. There are a couple of important steps to ensuring perfect scallops.

Cooking scallops in cast iron requires that the skillet be really hot but not smoking. Make sure there is just a thin layer of oil to help flavor the scallops and to keep them from sticking.
Don’t disturb the scallops until they are golden brown. They will come right off the skillet when they are ready.
Flip them gently and let them get golden on the second side. Baste them with the butter at that point.
Serve them right in the skillet they were cooked in. Just garnish with fresh dill a lemon wheels.
I use individual cast iron skillets when serving this but you could make them in one large skillet and then plate them on individual plates with some of the sauce, a dill sprig and a few lemon wheels.

The key to these tasty scallops is fresh ingredients and that dill flavored olive oil. You can purchase that at Patricia and Paul.

I often get asked what to serve with seared scallops. Since, I’m serving this as an appetizer, just warm crusty bread is served on the side. If I was serving this as an entree, I’d serve with orzo or rice to soak up the delicious olive oil and butter in the dish. Steamed veggies like asparagus or broccoli would also be great on the side.

Be sure to try some of my other scallop dishes like:

Japanese Spicy Soy Scallops
Shrimp, Scallops and Asparagus Linguine
Baked Panko Scallops
Seared Scallops on Corn Puree