Summer dinner salad with scallops

#dishes/salad #meals/dinner #dietary/gluten-free #active-time/30-to-60mins
Salad cookbook
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1.5 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2.5 tsp minced shallot
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp mayonnaise
• 3/4 tsp table salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp pepper, divided
• 7 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 10 oz (10 cups) spring mix
• 4 carrots, peeled and shaved into strips
• 12 oz snap peas, strings removed, halved crosswise
• 1.5 lbs large sea scallops, tendons removed

Instructions

1. Place scallops on a clean dish towel, then top with second clean dish towel and press gently to dry. Let scallops sit between towels at room temperature for 10 minutes.
2. Combine vinegar, shallot, mustard, mayonnaise, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in a bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in 5 tablespoons oil until emulsified. Toss spring mix, carrots, and snap peas with dressing. Divide salad among individual plates.
3. Line large plate with double layer of paper towels. Sprinkle scallops with remaining 1/2 tsp salt and remaining 1/4 tsp pepper. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of scallops flat side down in a single layer and cook, without moving them, until well browned, 1.5 to 2 minutes. Using tongs, flip scallops and continue to cook until sides of scallops are firm and centers are opaque, 30 to 90 seconds longer. Transfer scallops to prepared plate. Wipe out skillet with paper towels and repeat with remaining 1 tbsp oil and remaining scallops. Serve, topping individual portions with scallops.

Journal

• 2025-05-15: made with Maria for dinner. Only used about half the recommended amount of scallops and it was definitely a bit sparse, but the salad was still delicious. We chopped the carrots like the book recommended but we think it would work better with shaved carrots instead. We used the lemon dressing from Arugula salad with fennel and shaved Parmesan (it also has shallots and Dijon) instead of making a new one and it worked really well.