Name: Curried Scallops with Tomatoes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3 medium ripe tomatoes; 1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil; 1 1/2 to 2 pounds large sea scallops; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons curry powder, or to taste; 1/2 cup heavy cream, sour cream, or yogurt, optional; Juice of 1 lime; 1/2 cup washed, dried, and chopped fresh cilantro

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Curried Scallops with TomatoesCookbook cover image courtesy of Random House

You can never go wrong by adding a little crunch to scallops when you sauté them. Usually, you dredge them in flour, cornmeal, or bread crumbs before adding them to the hot pan, and it's something that most everyone seems to like. But you can take that crunch and give it an intense flavor by dredging the scallops directly in a spice mix. Although you can't do this with everything—dried herbs don't get crisp, and some spices are far too strong to use in this quantity—it works perfectly with curry powder, which not only seasons the scallops and their accompanying sauce but gives them the crunch we all crave.

Recipe notes

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