Recipes Pan-Fried Sea Scallops with Caponata 4.0 (3,446) 1 Review This luxurious eggplant based relish is a delicious accompaniment to a wide range of meats and fish. Here, the caponata is topped with seared scallops. Serve warm or at room temperature with torn basil throughout. Slideshow: More Scallop Recipes By Sarah Bolla Sarah Bolla F&W Digital Food Awards Winner Website Lemon Fire Brigade Profile A trained chef, Sarah Bolla now focuses on food styling, but she still finds inspiration at restaurants. For example, a dish at a Peruvian café in Del Mar, California, resulted in her black sesame–dusted chard empanadas. She also checks out the plated dishes on chefs' Twitter feeds. "I'm constantly taking screen shots of composed dishes from chefs around the world," she says. Currently, she is obsessed with earthy, raw, organic pottery and stone. "We all want our plates to look like Noma's," she says. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on February 14, 2014 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Sarah Bolla Total Time: 40 mins Yield: 4 to 6 Ingredients 1 pound eggplant 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 6 celery stalks, peeled and sliced on a diagonal into 1/2-inch pieces 1 large red onion, cut into 1-inch thin pieces 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1/4 cup capers in salt 1 28-ounce can peeled San Marzano tomatoes—cut into 1-inch pieces, sauce reserved 1/4 teaspoon granulated cane sugar 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 12 sea scallops, about 1 pound 8 basil leaves, roughly chopped Directions Peel the eggplant and cut into 1-inch pieces. Heat a large heavy-bottomed saucepan with half of the extra virgin olive oil; add half of the eggplant and season with 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt. Fry the eggplant cubes in two batches until golden brown, adding the second addition of olive oil and salt with the second batch. Remove from the oil and set aside. Using the same pan, add the celery, red onion, garlic and capers and season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium to low heat until vegetables have softened and look glossy, about 10 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and sugar to the pan and stir to combine. Fold in the cooked eggplant and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring every 4 minutes. Add the vinegar to the mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste. Season the scallops with salt and pepper, add to a skillet and cook over moderately high heat until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn the scallops, and continue cooking for another 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate and serve with the caponata. Garnish with chopped basil and serve. Rate it Print