Seared Alaska Scallops with Romesco on Potato Chips

Serves: 8

Prep Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1/4 cup almonds

12 ounces firm-ripe Roma tomatoes, cored

1 thick slice (1 oz.) firm-textured French bread, toasted

1/2 cup drained canned roasted red peppers

1/4 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley

2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons hot paprika

2 cloves garlic, peeled

About 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1-1/2 pounds Alaska Scallops (about 1-1/2 inches wide)

Fresh-ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon butter

Thick-cut or baked potato chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Put almonds and tomatoes in separate baking pans. Bake almonds until slightly darker, 8 to 10 minutes, and tomatoes until skins begin to split and shrivel, 15 to 18 minutes.

Pour almonds into the bowl of a food processor. Tear bread into chunks and add to bowl. Whirl until finely ground.

Cut tomatoes in half and add to processor, along with roasted red peppers, parsley, vinegar, paprika, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whirl until mixture is smooth. With motor running, slowly pour in 1/4 cup olive oil and whirl until

Rinse scallops and gently pat dry. Sprinkle lightly all over with salt and pepper. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium-high heat, melt butter with remaining tablespoon olive oil. Add scallops and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides and opaque but still moist-looking in the center (cut one to test), about 8 minutes total; keep heat high enough to evaporate juices released from scallops.

Arrange as many potato chips as you have scallops on a platter. Top each with a scallop, then a dollop of romesco. Serve immediately. Save remaining Romesco to use with pan-roasted Alaska Halibut or as a dip for Alaska Prawns.

Nutrients per appetizer (9 servings): 231 calories, 12.5g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 49% calories from fat, 28mg cholesterol, 15g protein, 14g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 401mg sodium, 39mg calcium and .2g omega-3 fatty acids.

Notes: Lays makes great thick-cut potato chips, and Kettle has a new baked chip out that works well; just pick out the flattest chips in the bag to use. This recipe makes more romesco than you'll need for the scallops (less is hard to make). The leftover sauce would be great with Alaska Cod or Halibut.

Wine pairing: Brut sparkling wine

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