Sunday dinner: Sea Scallops

Pan-seared scallops on watercress served with couscous.

Another D4SA first, brought to you by the good folks at Pura Vida Fisheries: sea scallops. As we'd been stopping by the fish stand at the market recently, we'd been noticing a bin of "big" looking scallops as well as a bin of "small" looking scallops. When we finally investigated, it turned out that these were actually two different creatures. The sea scallops are rather larger, and the smaller ones were "bay scallops," around here mostly fished in the Peconic Bay on Long Island. They apparently have a slightly sweeter flavor.

We were intrigued, so we decided to try bay scallops first - but unfortunately, we seem to have missed the window of opportunity. Around here, their season is about November to early April. Something good to keep in mind for next winter...

Sea scallops, on the other hand, are pretty plentiful and are available year-round. So we quickly pan-seared these guys, doused them in a lemon-thyme dressing, and served them over some fresh spring watercress.