Seared Scallops with Succotash

Succotash was a bean dish adapted by the early settlers from the Native Americans. It makes a light, flavorful and summery base for seared scallops.

Ingredients:

3 T unsalted butter

1 large leek, white and pale green parts, halved lengthwise, cut into 1/2" pieces and well rinsed

1 red bell pepper, cored, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 (15oz) can lima beans, drained and rinsed

2 c green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2" pieces

4 ears fresh corn kernels

4 T chives, minced and separated

2 T fresh oregano, minced

0 kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1 T olive oil

12 large sea scallops, tough muscles removed

Yield	Servings
Prep time	20 minutes
Recipe	First Courses Fish and Shellfish Lunch Quick and Easy Salad Seafood Summer
Ingredients	red bell pepper oregano olive oil mussels lima beans leek green beans corn chives butter

Yield

Prep time

20 minutes

Recipe

First Courses Fish and Shellfish Lunch Quick and Easy Salad Seafood Summer

Ingredients

red bell pepper oregano olive oil mussels lima beans leek green beans corn chives butter

Directions

Make the succotash: Melt the butter in a large saute pan set over medium heat. Add the leek and cook, stirring often, until it begins to soften but is not yet colored. About 2 minutes. Add bell pepper and green beans; cook an additional 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the lima beans, corn, 2 tablespoons chives, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to serve.

Make the scallops: Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick or cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat until very hot but not quite smoking. Add the scallops in batches to avoid crowding. Cook the scallops undisturbed on one side about 3 minutes until a nice golden crust forms. Flip them over and cook an additional minute or two until they are barely translucent in the center.

Gently reheat the succotash if necessary and serve the scallops on top. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with remaining chives.

Notes:

serves 4 as main course or 6 to 8 as first course