Sun Dried Tomato Scallops

By: Julia Huston

Servings: 1

Prep Time: 10 minutes

I don’t know about you all, but I often find myself in a protein rut. The same chicken, ground turkey, and salmon can get old pretty quickly when you are making the same meals every week. So, I decided to start experimenting with less common proteins to spice up my life, and I came up with a seafood dish that is delicious and extremely easy to make. A 3-ounce serving of scallops contains roughly 15 grams of protein, so they are an excellent way to get your daily value in. These mollusks are also a great source of magnesium and potassium, which are both important for heart and brain health. They promote blood vessel relaxation, help control blood pressure, and enable better blood circulation (Healthline). I am a huge fan of one-serving meals since I am a college student, but this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to serve more than one. I would not recommend using it to meal prep though, as most seafood goes bad quickly. For reference, I served these scallops with rice and brussel sprouts as sides!

Ingredients:

4 fresh scallops
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley plus extra for garnish
½ tsp minced garlic
½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tbsp butter (I like to use Earth Balance “buttery spread”)
⅛ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Pat scallops dry with a paper towel to remove excess water and season with salt and pepper.
Combine the lemon juice, parsley, butter, and set aside. No need to stir, but it is helpful to have these ingredients ready to go since the scallops will cook extremely fast.
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat until smoking.
Add the scallops and garlic, do not move for 30 seconds.
After 30 seconds, add the sun dried tomatoes.
After 30 more seconds, flip the scallops over to cook the other side and add the lemon juice, parsley, and butter mixture. Stir and cook until butter is melted, roughly one more minute.
Garnish with more parsley and serve immediately!