Bacon-Wrapped Scallops with Pomegranate Glaze
This delightful dish is not only bursting with flavor but also visually appealing. It’s a creative creation from Solera, a renowned Spanish restaurant in midtown Manhattan, brought to you by its owner Rufino, a native of Galicia where scallops are abundant and treasured for their shells, which represent the region.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
- Pomegranate Glaze:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons of finely chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons of finely chopped carrot
- 2 tablespoons of finely chopped celery
- ¼ cup of finely chopped mushrooms brown or white
- 2 tablespoons of finely chopped tomato
- 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
- ⅓ cup of red wine
- 2 ½ cups of chicken or vegetable broth
- ½ bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon of dried thyme
- ½ cup of pomegranate juice
- 8 large sea scallops
- 12 thin bacon slices halved crosswise
- 2 tablespoons of pomegranate seeds for optional garnish
- Kosher or sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the Pomegranate Glaze: In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil.
- Add the shallot, garlic, onion, carrot, celery, and mushrooms.
- Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato and tomato paste and cook for approximately 2 minutes more.
- Add the red wine, broth, bay leaf, and thyme.
- Bring to a boil and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes.
- Allow the sauce to cool slightly, then strain it through a fine-mesh strainer into a small saucepan, pressing with a wooden spoon to extract as much liquid as possible (you should have about 1 cup of liquid).
- Discard the solids.
- Stir in the pomegranate juice, bring it to a boil, and continue cooking, stirring constantly until the glaze thickens, reduces to about 1/3 cup, and becomes syrupy.
- Store it in a tightly covered jar.
- Wrap each scallop with a piece of bacon.
- Brush a stovetop griddle with olive oil and heat it over high heat until it starts smoking.
- Add the scallops with the seam side of the bacon facing down.
- Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook until the bacon’s seam side is browned.
- Flip the scallops and cook until they turn white and opaque on the inside and the bacon becomes browned on all sides, which should take about 5 minutes.
- On individual plates, drizzle approximately 1 tablespoon of the pomegranate glaze.
- Place 2 scallops on the glaze and garnish with pomegranate seeds if desired.
- Season with a pinch of salt and serve the bacon-wrapped scallops with pomegranate glaze hot.