Caramelized scallops with smoked chili cream, mixed greens and potato scallion pancakes

I love technology. I have to, right? I run a cloud computing offering, so I can't really hate technology. Except when it doesn't work. Like the last two weeks. I have an Eye-fi card for my camera. Super cool concept - it automatically transfers photos to my device of choice without any cables. Except when it doesn't. All of a sudden, it wouldn't transfer any of my photos to my laptop. And a blog without photos is, well, dull. So you had to wait.

But now I've got a new SD card reader (my laptop doesn't have one built-in). So no more excuses and no more delays...

We've had a couple good food weeks whilst my camera misbehaved. Ramps, fiddlehead ferns... and scallops! My husband emailed me from work one day, subject line "scallops". That got my attention. Turns out a guy he works with scallops and was selling 5 pound bags. Sign me up! 

They were delivered to my husband last Wednesday at work. Scallops are not a typical Wednesday night dinner in my house, but I had to cook some of them while fresh. The rest would get packed into the freezer (and a bag to dad of course). So I went with a simple caramelized scallop with an easy smoked chili cream. It's from the Black Dog Cookbook which suggested serving with potato pancakes. Super easy... and a hit.

Caramelized scallops with smoked chili cream, mixed greens and potato scallion pancakes
Adapted from Black Dog Summer on the Vineyard

Ingredients

Smoked chili cream

• 1 tsp. chipotle chili powder
• Juice of one lime
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• Salt, to taste

Scallion-potato pancakes

• 3/4 pounds red potatoes, scrubbed
• 3 scallions (green onions), cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

Scallops

• 10-12 sea scallops, thawed if frozen
• 1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin olive oil
• 3 cups mixed baby greens
• 1 Tbsp. chopped chives
• lemon wedges

Cooking Directions

1. To make the smoked chili cream, combine the lime juice and chipotle powder in a small bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream and salt to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.
2. To make the potato pancakes, grate unpeeled potatoes and squeeze out excess liquid (drier is better). Mix in the scallions, egg, flour, salt and pepper.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil in an 8-inch non-stick skillet until hot. Add half the potato mixture and lower the heat. Cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown and potatoes are cooked through, another 5 minutes or so. Remove from pan and keep warm. Repeat with remaining potato mixture.
4. While potatoes are cooking, dry the scallops on a paper towel then sprinkle with salt, pepper and parsley. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a non-stick pan over high heat until just smoking. Reduce heat to medium high and add the scallops. Let them cook for about 2 minutes undisturbed, then turn them over and cook another minute.
5. Meanwhile, toss the greens with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
6. To serve, place a potato pancake on each plate and top with half the scallops. Put half the greens on the side and sprinkle with the chopped chives. Serve with a drizzle of the smoked chili cream and lemon wedges.