{quick entree: pan seared scallops with pea & avocado puree}

For the better part of my life, I have not liked eating fish (with the exception of sushi- yes I know that doesn't make a lot of sense), but lately I have been making a concerted effort to seek out more fish recipes.  Surprisingly, I have really enjoy most of the fish meals we have tried cooking and I am beginning to believe the whole not liking fish thing was all in my head this entire time.  We whipped up a quick and easy scallop dish the other night inspired by a lot of the scallop appetizer recipes I was seeing that featured pan seared scallops on a bed of some sort of pureed veggie.  I liked the idea of using peas for the base puree, but we tossed in some avocado for an added creamy texture.  We used the frozen scallops from Trader Joe's which are great since this recipe lends itself nicely to appetizer portions so you can always have the scallops on hand in your freezer to be ready for guests.  Recipe is at the bottom of this post! 

what you need:

• 8 to 10 scallops- we used the frozen ones from Trader Joes
• 1 avocado
• 1 cup peas- frozen is fine for this as well
• 2 roasted jalapenos, sliced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 stick of butter

1. Puree cilantro and olive oil. Set aside to be used as a drizzle for finished plate.
2. Place avocado, peas, and jalapeno in food processor and blend until smooth. Salt & pepper to taste.  Can add olive oil to reach desired consistency if mix if too chunky.
3. Lightly salt and pepper the thawed scallops. Add butter to a non-stick pan and place over medium heat. Once butter has stopped bubbling, add the scallops. Cook one and half minutes per side. 
4. Set scallops aside to rest for a few minutes while you prepare the dinner plates with a bed of the avocado/pea puree. 
5. Place scallops on top of puree and then lightly drizzle with cilantro oil. 
6. Salt to taste.

**if you wanted to modify this for an appetizer dish you could portion a small spoonful of the puree in a appetizer spoon and top with one scallop as you see in this photo.