Free Range Scallops

My husband and I LOVE scallops! Our favorite place to buy them is in Portland, Maine. We are fortunate enough to spend most of our free time in Maine - we just love it. We also like to purchase our scallops on the waterfront.  The scallops in this dish were purchased from Free Range Fish & Lobster, 450 Commercial Street Portland, ME 04101, (866) 700-8469. We buy most of our seafood from them!

These scallops are dry, local, sea scallops (see explanation below)- they are on the pricy side, but so worth it!  I usually buy about 2 pounds at a time and freeze the rest.  Check out their website (above) when you have a moment, I think they ship!

Our new motto is "eat fresh, eat local, eat better, eat less and live longer!"

Recipe

12 ounces of pan seared scallops in small amount of olive oil

12 - 16 ounces of baby organic arugula (or spinach)

1 - 14 ounce can of fire roasted organic diced tomatoes

2 diced garlic cloves

Angel hair pasta for 2

Directions

Cook and drain the pasta ahead of time

Pan sear the scallops and set aside when cooked (keeping them warm)

in a large sauce pan add the olive oil, add the garlic, about 30 seconds later add the diced tomatoes to stop the garlic from cooking.

Bring the tomatoes to a simmer

Add the arugula in small batches tossing in the tomato sauce and incorporating and you mix it.  (Remember, the arugula will shrink, so be generous with it!)

Serve

Pour a glass of nice white, cold vino. Plate the pasta, add the tomato sauce, add the scallops, then top with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and enjoy!

Satisfies 2 adults!  Yum!

Dry vs. Wet Scallops
Wet scallops are commonly treated with Phosphates which is a preservative. When scallops are soaked in phosphates, they absorb water making them weigh more and thereby costing you more. (Take in mind, that you are paying for added water.) The absorbed water evaporates during cooking and, in turn, shrinks your scallops leaving them smaller, dry and somewhat tasteless. Furthermore, the added water does not let scallops brown properly during cooking. It is generally easy to discern treated scallops as they will usually appear snow-white in color.

Dry scallops are all wild and natural. They are not treated with any chemicals whatsoever. They are harvested directly from the ocean, shucked on deck, then immediately frozen on the boat to capture their quality. Dry scallops caramelize naturally during cooking to a golden brown color that is very attractive when serving. And, as you might have guessed, there is no cost-added water weight with dry scallops. Dry scallops generally have a natural vanilla color.