Stuffed Scallops

Name: Stuffed Scallops
Yield: makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 20 large fresh basil leaves; 1 small garlic clove, peeled; 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds large sea scallops of fairly uniform size

December 20, 2011

The sea scallop is one of the most perfect of nature’s convenience foods—almost nothing cooks faster. This is especially true if you opt to heat the mollusk until it remains rare in the center, as do most scallop admirers. Sea scallops are also large enough to stuff, not with bread crumbs or other fish, as is common with clams or lobsters, but with herbs, garlic, and other flavorings. As long as a scallop is a good inch across and roughly three-quarters of an inch thick, you can make an equatorial slit in it and fill it with any number of stuffings.

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