Monday Scallops with Cilantro and Jalapeño Sauce

Sundays are for smoking meat and mondays are reserved for scallops.  We grab most of the meat and seafood for the upcoming week from the farmers market.  Therefore, we need to eat our scallops as soon as we can.




After experimenting with a few sides for scallops, I was able to find the perfect match!  We only use one brand of pasta for the scallops (which can be found at Whole Foods):



Pasta

I prefer to make my own pasta but its texture doesn't complement the scallops as much as I would like.  The Fusilli Col Buco cooks to perfection when paired with the scallops.  The pasta remains firm - even if I forget to check on it and it passes the al dente mark.  I usually have a hard time telling how much pasta is enough for two people.  There are times when I think I put too much in and it actually is just enough for the both of us.  For two people, I found the right amount to be 3/4 of the box.  This is with me eating slightly less than my husband.

After the pasta is cooked al dente and strained, I toss it back in the pot with 3 cloves of garlic, salt and olive oil that have been warmed for 1 minute to create the base of the dish.

Scallops 

Before cooking, I coat the scallops in olive oil and add salt and freshly crushed white pepper on both sides.  Then they're off to my husband to cook on top of the cast iron skillet.  It usually takes 3 minutes to cook scallops - 1.5 minutes on each side.  Once the scallops are finished cooking put them on top of the pasta and top with the cilantro and jalapeño sauce.

Cilantro and Jalapeño Sauce

Ingredients

• Bunch of cilantro


• 1 jalapeño


• 1 clove of garlic


• 1 tbsp ground cumin


• 1/4 cup of olive oil

PREPARATION

Put cilantro, jalapeño, garlic and cumin in a food processor and chop until fine.  Add the olive oil and mix with a spoon.  Top each scallop with a dollop of sauce.




Word about food processors

Living in the city makes it hard for storing large appliances.  When we moved to Baltimore, I took my mom's Cuisinart Mini Food Processor.  This is the perfect little processor that will usually satisfy all of our needs when it comes to chopping and grinding.  Best of all, it fits in a little cupboard and doesn't have to take up space on the counter.