Scallops and Tomatoes with Lemon Herb Butter Sauce

SIMPLE, summer-y and delicious, this impressive scallop dish was the first course of our five year Anniversary dinner at home this year.  The real celebration was a week on the beach in Charleston with family- where we were married- the week prior but we were home Sunday evening May 20th for our actual anniversary.  We enjoyed a toast of our favorite champagne and made dinner together, it was perfect...

Serves 2

6-8 large sea scallops
1 cup assorted cherry/grape/colorful tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 small shallot, minced
1/3 cup white wine
juice and zest of 1large lemon- meyer if you can get it
2 tablespoons of butter
2 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs (dill, thyme, parsley, chives, etc.)
2 generous handfuls of baby arugula

Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Sear the scallops until golden brown, roughly 2 minutes per side.  Do not disturb the scallops once you place them in the pan.  Moving them around prevents the caramelizing sugar from forming the golden crust on the scallops.

Cut one scallop in half to ensure they are cooked though (should not be translucent in the center).  When done- remove the scallops from the pan and set aside.

Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel and add another small drizzle of olive oil and the shallots.  Cook over medium-high heat until tender but not yet brown- 2 minutes.  Add the white wine.  Zest the lemon into the pan and squeeze most but not all of the juice in as well.  Save a squeeze or so of lemon juice to dress the greens. 

Cook the sauce for 1 minute until reduced a bit and then add the tomatoes- cooking another 2 minutes longer.  Remove from the heat and add the butter, herbs, a pinch of salt and some black pepper- swirling the pan to melt the butter into the sauce.

Toss the arugula in a separate bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, the remaining meyer lemon juice, salt and pepper. 

Plate the scallops next to the greens- spoon the tomatoes and sauce over top of the scallops.  Serve warm (doesn't have to be piping hot) with a crisp white wine or champagne.

Looks even better on our beautiful wedding china!