Cheap , Fast, and Totally In Control Scallops With Rice Ramen

     
   We're in the midst of a lot of work. In between fire evacuations, and PG&E blackouts, we've been trying to get a TV pilot finished and out of the house. Since I cook most days, I always need things that can be cooked up quickly with minimum fuss and with ingredients I already have in hand. I keep a lot of fish in my freezer since Alan has switched to a piscetarian diet. I always have vegetables and herbs in the garden and I am now a huge fan of  these cheaper than cheap Rice Ramen Noodles from Lotus Foods. 

  
   I started buying these for myself a few years ago when I wanted something easy and quick to mix with some vegetables for my dinner. Now I keep them in the house as a change from basmati rice in some dishes. The noodles are gluten-free and come in a variety of types. They're a great thing to keep in the pantry for a fast meal in a pinch,  plus did I say cheap?

   Which brings me to this recipe. I originally found it in the NYT, a nostalgic piece about the menu at the Windows on the World Restaurant at the World Trade Center. They evidently served a delicious sea scallop appetizer. After reading the recipe I thought why the heck can't this just be an entree served with rice or rice noodles. Which brings me to another sale item. There was a sale at our local whole foods on big wild caught sea scallops, so I picked a few up. 4 per person seemed about right and I set about cooking.

Scallops in Brown Butter with Capers, and Lemon

Here's What You Need:

8 large sea scallops
4 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs unsalted butter
1 Tbs finely chopped shallot
2  Tbs capers rinsed of excess salt
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/3 cup chopped  Italian parsley

Here's What To Do:

Pat the scallops dry and season lightly with salt and pepper.
Add the olive oil to a large pan.
When the oil is hot, add in the scallops. A few at a time is necessary so that they have elbow room even though scallops do not have elbows - you know what I mean.

When the scallops have cooked through, take then out of the pan and keep them warm while you finish the dish.
Add  your shallots and butter to the pan you cooked the scallops in.

When the butter has browned and foamed, add in the capers...

...and the lemon juice...

...and the chopped parsley.

I cooked my ramen noodles for about 4 minutes.

When they were done, I drained them and rinsed them under cool water.

I put everything back in the pan for a few minutes just to warm things up...

...then plated it.

Spoon the sauce over the scallops and the ramen noodles, (or rice if you're using that) and serve it up.

 
   This was crazy fast and if one is cooking on a weekday, you can't save more time than this. It's on regular rotation at our house, and it can even be a simple yet elegant company dinner for friends. Speaking of friends, coming up next, I'll have  some holiday favorites for all the celebrating that's heading toward us. Meanwhile follow along on Twitter @kathygori