Scallops Cajun Style

A week of eating steak and potatoes makes me yearn for seafood. A briny bite vs a meaty one prevails as we plan to dine with no carbs. My go-to seafood is scallops. These big fleshy cylindrical bites take on any seasoning effortlessly. They take just a few minutes to cook. I can sing plentiful praises, but dinner awaits.

I do not get the usual big fellows this shopping trip. Smaller ones have to work adequately. I let them sit on paper towels for an hour. This makes them much easier to saute as the towels absorb a lot of their liquid. A generous dusting of Cajun seasonings makes them looks oh so tempting. I saute broccollini. Onion and mushrooms  brown in another pan. My trusty cast iron skillet fires up till smoking hot. I drip a little olive oil into the pan. The spice coated scallops fit a little too snugly in the pan. They sizzle and spit as they crust and brown. The minute passes in a flash. Flipped once to crust the bottom, scallops emerge, golden brown, crusty, spicy.

SCALLOPS CAJUN STYLE

Serve 2-3

15 Scallops 

1 teaspoon Onion powder

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/2 teaspoon Thyme powder

1/2 teaspoon Chipotle Chili powder

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/2 teaspoon ground Black Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Olive oil

Place scallops on paper towels for an hour. This method lets the scallops drain off excess water.

Mix onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, chipotle powder, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk to combine.

Dust both sides of the scallops liberally with spice mixture.

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over high heat till smoking hot. Alternately use a nonstick pan.

Dribble a little olive oil in the pan.

Quickly add scallops to hot skillet. Do not crowd them as they will steam. You might have to do them in two batches. Wipe the pan clean after the first batch is done.

Let the scallops cook on one side for a minute or two. The bottoms should be golden brown.

Flip scallops and brown the other side for another minute.

Plate them and serve immediately.

As the sizzle and spitting subsides, the table is laid. The simplicity of this meal pleases all. Broccollini and mushrooms pair well with these spicy scallops. My no knife dinner is a winner.

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