We were contemplating what to make for dinner while grazing the aisles of Trader Joe’s last week. As we leisurely walked down the frozen fish aisle, I spotted the bags of Jumbo Wild Caught Scallops. We hadn’t had scallops for a while, so I thought this might be a nice change to our typical dinner routine. I grabbed the bag, and took one look at Bill, who without words clearly agreed with my decision. I threw the scallops in our cart, and we were on our way.

The last time we had scallops together was in Stone Harbor this past summer. They were fresh, delicious, straight off the grill, and enjoyed after a long day at the beach (it was actually the dinner that inspired us to start blogging!) Of course our evening inside on a cold winters night didn’t compare to that day at the beach, but I had an idea for how to cook these scallops that I thought would at least make up (flavor wise) for our lack of sunshine, warm summer breeze, and the smell of the hot grill.

I wanted to use a simple seasoning for these scallops. Scallops have a mild, but slightly sweet flavor, so my plan was to saute them in coconut oil to enhance the simple sweetness of the scallop. Along with the coconut oil, we sauteed minced shallot which also has a sweet flavor when sauteed, similar to onion. Our simple seasoning along with a dash of salt and pepper was just enough for our scallops.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of Trader Joe’s Jumbo Wild Caught Scallops (yields about 12)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 shallots, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Process:

1. Defrost frozen scallops in the sealed bag by emerging in a bowl of cold water.
2. Once defrosted, rinse with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
3. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan.
4. Add minced shallots to coconut oil and saute until shallots are translucent.
5. Add scallops to frying pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. Sear scallops about 2 minutes a side.
7. Serve over a bed of baby spinach.

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The scallops were wonderful cooked in coconut oil. The coconut oil did a fantastic job of enhancing the sweet flavor of the scallops. This is a wonderful recipe that we are looking forward to enjoying again soon.