Seared Scallops w/ Lemony Farro & Arugula

File this one under weeknight, fancy, easy, delicious.

My friend Sarah told me about this recipe a while back, and I have been making it ever since, not sure why I waited so long to share it with you.

If you can find yourself some good dry sea scallops, do it. They are worth the price.

I used to buy scallops in a big bag, frozen at Costco for 26.99 for 2 lbs...a real bargain, and so nice to have them on hand, however, Costco has been a nightmare since quarantine, and I just won't go. I would rather pay a little more and buy from my local fishmonger. Just sayin'.

Ok, back to the recipe.

We are using farro here. What is farro? you might ask.

Farro, is a high-protein, high-fiber, ancient whole-grain wheat. It looks similar to barley, though has a slightly more oblong shape and larger grain. I love it. The good stuff comes from Italy. You can buy a good Italian imported bag here on amazon.

I make enough farro for 2 meals, I freeze the other portion, so I just defrost it when I know I want to make this recipe.

I add crispy shallots to garnish, because crispy shallots are good on top of everything!

Here is how I made it: (recipe adapted from Chowhound)

Salad:
4 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups farro
big bunch of arugula, chopped

Dressing:
sea salt & pepper
1 tsp of lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 garlic cloves, shaved on microplane (otherwise, all you will taste is raw garlic)
1/4 cup best olive oil

Scallops:
1 pound sea scallops, patted dry with a paper towel (make sure you remove that little muscle thing that is attached)
2 tbsp butter
kosher salt & pepper
2 shallots, thinly sliced

Cook the farro (I make extra, so I have it for another meal...just stick the extra in the freezer). Drain and let cool.

Once the farro is cool, toss it in a large bowl w/ the chopped arugula.

Grate the garlic clove with a microplane zester and dump it into a bowl. Add in the rest of the ingredients, and whisk the dressing.
Pour the lemony dressing over the farro and arugula. Toss lightly together and plate into bowls.

Next step is cooking the scallops, which is super easy.

Season the scallops with kosher salt & pepper on both sides.

Heat the 2 tbsp of butter in a heavy skillet. Lay your scallops in the pan, don't crowd them.

Let them cook on high heat for 3 minutes, you will get a nice sear.
Flip them and cook another minute and a half.

If you have room in your skillet, cook the shallots for a minute or two until crispy. You can also do this ahead of time in another pan in butter. The shallots stay good in the fridge or a couple of days.

Place about 4 scallops per person on top of the farro arugula salads in bowls. Garnish with the crispy shallots and chive blossoms.

It's like a restaurant dinner at home.

Quarantine meals never looked so good.