Escabèche-Style Scallops

Escabèche is a Spanish dish in which cooked seafood is marinated and served cold as an appetizer. Though it's traditionally made with sardines, escabèche is also good with other seafood, including scallops and shrimp. Marinate for only 30 minutes to ensure the scallops remain tender. Top with thyme sprigs.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1  pound  medium sea scallops (18 to 24 count)
• 2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
• 1  tablespoon  extravirgin olive oil
• 1  teaspoon  finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 3  cups  trimmed watercress

Preparation

1. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add scallops to pan; cook 1 minute or until browned. Turn over and cook 30 seconds. Place scallops in a bowl.

2. Combine vinegar and next 4 ingredients (through pepper), stirring with a whisk. Pour vinegar mixture over scallops. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Arrange 1/2 cup watercress on each of 6 salad plates. Remove scallops from marinade with a slotted spoon, reserving marinade. Divide scallops evenly among plates. Drizzle each serving with about 1 tablespoon marinade.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

93 (28% from fat)

Fat:

2.9g (sat 0.4g,mono 1.7g,poly 0.4g)

Protein:

13.1g

Carbohydrate:

3g

Fiber:

0.1g

Cholesterol:

25mg

Iron:

0.4mg

Sodium:

228mg

Calcium:

41mg