Scallops with Bacon, Peaches & Radicchio Slaw

Summer 2013 will go down in the history of my life as the summer of the pig and the peach.  Let’s think about this–in the beginning of the summer, I became obsessed with chèvre-stuffed grilled peaches with prosciutto.  Then I moved on to nectarine (nearly a peach!) and bacon sandwiches.  Last week I grilled pork chops stuffed with bourbon and spice roasted peaches.

Am I sick of the combination?  Absolutely not!  I’m just getting started.

Sweet and juicy paired with salty-porky adds up to completely irresistible and today it’s going to be even better because bacon and peaches are teaming up with seared sea scallops to create the ultimate summer dinner trifecta.  Let’s get cooking!

Gather everything up–it’s really just 4 ingredients: nice, big scallops, a few strips of thick-cut bacon, a couple of ripe peaches, and a head of radicchio.

Cooking with good ingredients is easy; we don’t have to fuss with anything too much.  Just peel the peaches and cut them into thick slices, turn the radicchio into pretty red ribbons.  The radicchio will add a touch of bitterness to the plate to offset the sweetness of the peaches and scallops.  It will also make us feel a tiny bit better about having bacon for dinner.  Again.

Cook the bacon on one side of a grill pan and your peaches on the other.  Just beware–if your stove top has a low-side you don’t want your peaches to be on it.  They’ll soak up the bacon grease like a sponge and that’s definitely not what we’re after.

When your bacon and peaches are close to ready, sear the scallops.  I use a big cast iron pan with butter for flavor and oil for its high smoke point.  Get the pan good and hot, then pop the scallops in and let them be until they turn golden.  Flip and let them cook for a minute more on the other side.

Toss the radicchio with half of the grilled peaches, a touch of olive oil, and a few drops of balsamic vinegar.

Plate it up.  Line the scallops up, atop the bacon.  Wedge peach slices between the scallops and mound the radicchio off to the side.  Take your apron off and get in there fast; the summer of the peach and the pig won’t last forever.

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Scallops with Bacon, Peaches & Radicchio Slaw

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

I love the way these 4 ingredients work together--sweet sea scallops, smokey bacon, juicy peaches, and bitter radicchio.

Author: Sarah

Recipe type: Dinner, Entree, Main, Seafood

Cuisine: American, Summer

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 6 U12 Sea Scallops, rinsed and patted very dry with paper towels
• 4 strips Thick-Cut Bacon
• 2 smallish or 1 large Peach, peeled and cut in thick slices
• ¼ head Radicchio, thinly sliced
• Olive Oil
• Butter
• Balsamic Vinegar

Instructions

1. Heat a grill pan over high heat. Grill the bacon until slightly crisp at the edges but still a little chewy in the middle, a couple of minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel.
2. Meanwhile, place the peaches on the other side of the grill, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and grill for a minute or 2 per side. If you don't have a giant grill pan, don't sweat it--just use a couple of sauté pans instead.
3. When the bacon and peaches are nearly ready, heat about 1 Tbsp. each butter and olive oil in a large skillet (I like using my cast-iron pan for this) over high heat. Sprinkle the scallops with kosher salt and place in the hot pan. Let the scallops cook, undisturbed, until light golden, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook for 1-2 minutes on the other side.
4. Dice a few of the peach slices and toss them and the radicchio with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and a few drops of balsamic vinegar.
5. Place 2 strips of bacon on one side of each plate. Top with 3 scallops and wedge a slice or 2 of peach between each scallop. Mound the radicchio on the other side of the plate and serve.

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