You can make this with sea scallops or true bay scallops (which are rare and quite expensive); don’t bother to try it with the tiny calicos, which are guaranteed to overcook and become rubbery. If you look at a sea scallop, you’ll see a little stark-white hinge on one side; remove that if you have the time; it’s much chewier than the rest of the meat. And if you’re lucky enough to find scallops with their roe (it’s red or beige; you’ll know it when you see it), by all means use them here.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

　　2 tablespoons butter or more oil

　　2 pounds sea scallops, cut in half horizontally if very large

　　Flour for dredging

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　1 tablespoon minced garlic

　　Chopped fresh chervil or parsley leaves or chives for garnish

　　

Step 1

Put the oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet and turn the heat to medium-high; begin to dredge the scallops lightly in the flour. When the butter foam subsides, add the scallops swiftly but not all at once. Turn them individually, as they brown, allowing about 2 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper as they cook.

　　

Step 2

Once you have turned all the scallops, add the garlic and lower the heat a bit. Stir or, even better, shake the pan gently so the garlic cooks a bit and is distributed among the scallops. Garnish and serve.

　　

Sautéed Scallops with Bacon and Shallots

Step 3

A venerable tradition: In step 1, use only 1 tablespoon butter or oil; in it, sauté about 1/4 cup bacon or pancetta over medium heat until crisp, 5 to 10 minutes; halfway through the cooking time, add 1/4 cup minced shallots. Quarter the scallops; do not dredge them in flour. Stir them into the bacon/shallot mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, for a couple of minutes, until stark white. Season to taste (omit the garlic), garnish, and serve.

　　

Sautéed Scallops with White Wine

Step 4

You can finish either the main recipe or the variation this way: Transfer the cooked scallops to a warm platter and turn the heat to high. Add 1 cup dry white wine (a really good one will not be wasted here) and cook, stirring and scraping the pan with a wooden spoon, until the wine is reduced by more than half and is syrupy and thick. Pour this over the cooked scallops, garnish, and serve.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.