scallops: one of the most impressive things you can make.

College students tend to stray from trying to cook finer cuisine--but the following recipe is almost as easy as sticking a lean pocket into a microwave. It's inspired by an amazing dish I had at the Thai restaurant, Origins in Basking Ridge, NJ. Their dish was much more complex with a great relish on top of the scallops, but this recipe captures the same flavors and is user friendly. 

Also, for those that don't like the briny tang of scallops, the hummus downplays the smelly seafood nature of scallops and makes the dish really accessible. If you've cooked this right, you won't even realize you're eating an edible bivalve mollusk! 

Ingredients:

• Large Sea Scallops
  
• Chopped Garlic
  
• Butter or Olive Oil 
  
• 1 Lime
  
• fresh Cilantro
• Hummus
• Cayenne Pepper 

Materials:

• The largest nonstick skillet/pan you have.
• Something to flip the scallops with. 

Directions: 

1.) Depending on how many people you're making this for, buy 2-4 large scallops per person. Because scallops are usually $11.99-16.99 a pound around here, this dish works best as an appetizer.

2.) Clean the scallops under cold water, make sure there's no grainy material on them. Then dry them with a paper towel.

3.) Melt enough butter on a large nonstick pan to evenly coat the pan. When the pan is hot enough, place the scallops in, but be sure there is at-least 2 inches of room between each scallop. If the scallops are too close together they steam, and don't get that beautiful pan seared look you see on Top Chef. 

4.) Let the scallops sear for 2 minutes on each side. You know your scallops are done when each side is a golden brown and the body of the scallop looks opaque. If you cook the scallops for too long they'll be rubbery--to be on the safe side I use a timer.

5.) When the scallops seem almost finished throw some chopped garlic on the pan until they have browned also. If you put garlic in first it usually burns and changes the whole flavor of the dish.

6.) To plate your dish, use a teaspoon to scoop some store-brought or homemade hummus and spread the hummus into a circle that will be a little larger than an individual scallop. So if you have 6 scallops you need 6 teaspoons of hummus, at-least.

7.) Sprinkle some cayenne pepper over the whole plate. 

8.) Place each seared scallop on top of the hummus.

9.) Squirt some lime juice on the scallops and sprinkle the whole plate with cilantro. 

Enjoy!