Friday Finds: Seared Scallops with Pomegranate Sauce

I know that pomegranate season is over at this point and while I like to cook with seasonal ingredients, when I was flipping through the A Taste of Glynn cookbook the other day and came across this recipe I knew I needed to try it.  This dish is elegant, interesting, and also pretty easy to make. This would be an ideal dish to serve to company. There are a ton of flavors at play here: sweet scallops, tangy pomegranate and balsamic, salty soy sauce, and peppery greens. They all work really well together though and the dish is filling, but still light. We made it for dinner on Sunday night after a weekend of restaurant eating and drinking as a bit of a "detox" from a few days of unhealthy dining and it was exactly what I needed.

Ingredients:

Pomegranate Sauce--

• 2 large pomegranates, halved crosswise*
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbs. soy sauce
• 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• Dash of ground red pepper

Scallops--

• 1 1/2 lbs. sea scallops
• 2 tsp. vegetable oil 
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bunch watercress, trimmed
• 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds (from about 1 pomegranate)

Squeeze juice from pomegranate halves using a citrus juicer to measure 1 cup of liquid. Combine juice, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, black and red peppers in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until mixture is reduced by half (about 15 minutes), stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Rinse scallops and pat dry. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with salt, sugar, and black pepper. Add scallops to pan and cook 2 minutes on each side or until done.

Arrange 1/2 cup watercress on each of 6 plates, divide the scallops among the plates. Drizzle each serving with 1 Tbs. sauce and sprinkle with 2 Tbs. of pomegranate seeds.

*I made this when pomegranates were not really in season and they only yielded about half the juice necessary. I added bottled pomegranate juice to get to the amount needed.