Learn how to make a delicious and beautiful salad with pan seared scallops for an easy romantic dinner at home. Thanks to this incredibly simple salad you won't need to go to the restaurant for a romantic dinner! You can make this for Valentine's Day or for a surprise romantic dinner or to celebrate your anniversary. This show stopper salad will impress your loved one.
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Scallops are one of the easiest seafood you can make at home.
But pan seared scallops sure are special and will impress your loved one especially as they are part of a beautiful romantic salad.
If you’re looking to make the perfect romantic dinner to impress your loved one, this salad is your answer!
This salad is really simple to make, yet very elegant and impressive.
Yes, sometimes planning a nice romantic dinner at home is better than going to a busy restaurant.
⭐ Why you'll love this recipe
- This romantic dinner salad is a total showstopper! You will definitely impress your loved one.
- This pan seared scallop salad is quick and easy to make.
- It's incredibly simple.
- This recipe is gluten free, paleo, whole30 and AIP compliant.
📖 Ingredient notes
- Scallops. You should choose dry scallops. Dry scallops have not been treated with any chemical additives or solutions. If you can’t find dry scallops, frozen scallops will work too. For best result, follow thawing instructions written on the package.
- Cooked red beet. In France we can easily buy ready steamed cooked beetroot (they are even easier to find than raw beets!). But if you can't find ready cooked beetroot or if you prefer to cook it yourself and you want to know how to cook it, you can read all about it in my Beetroot for beginners article.
- Mixed baby leaf salad. I used a mix of baby red lettuce, green lettuce and arugula.
- Pomegranate arils/seeds. If you need to know how to remove the arils from a pomegranate you can watch this video.
- Ground pink peppercorn / pink pepper berries. Omit if you or your loved one is on AIP.
- Apple cider vinegar. You can also use balsamic vinegar.
For the quantities and complete list of ingredients for this romantic dinner salad with pan seared scallops, please see the recipe card below.
Please note that ingredient quantities are simply a guideline per person. Do not hesitate to adjust the amount of each ingredient based on your tastes, appetite or budget.
Step by step instructions
How to Make Beet Hearts
To give the salad a romantic touch and befitting of a special Valentine's Day or anniversary dinner, beet hearts are the perfect garnish.
Luckily, beet hearts are super easy to make. Just cut the red beet in 0.4 inches (1 cm) slices.
- In each beet slice, cut out hearts using a heart shaped cookie cutter.
How to sear scallops
- Preheat a skillet over medium high heat.
- In the meantime, pat the scallops dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle the scallops with sea salt.
- When the pan is hot, add the olive oil, then drop in your scallops, giving them enough room in between so they don’t steam each other. The scallops should make a sizzling noise when you put them in the pan.
- Cook the scallops for 2 minutes undisturbed on the first side.
- When the scallops are mostly opaque and start to get a nice golden color, flip them over with a pair of tongs.
- Let the scallops cook for 2 more minutes undisturbed.
- Remove the scallops from the pan and add them to your romantic dinner salad.
Putting the romantic dinner salad together
Prepare two plates. In the center of each plate spread half of the mixed baby lettuce. Then add the sliced red onion. Decorate the outer side of each plates with beetroot hearts. Sprinkle half of the pomegranate arils/seeds on each plate.
When your plates are ready, start searing the scallops.
Once cooked, add them to your plates.
Sprinkle scallops with ground pink peppercorn for both taste and color (omit if you are on AIP).
To finish off the salad, drizzle it with dressing.
👩🏻🍳 Top tip
Do not throw away the beet scraps! Use them to make red velvet ice cream or beet hummus or beet soup.
💬 Frequently Asked Question
Well, I don't recommend putting together the whole salad ahead of time as it may lose its fresh looks. But the day before, you can prepare the pomegranate arils, beet hearts and sliced onion and store them in separate airtight containers.
If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge until the next day.
🍲 Other recipes you might like
Did you like this recipe? Please leave a 5 star rating on the recipe card and leave a nice review below! Tag @gohealthywithbea on Instagram and hashtag #gohealthywithbea! Also, let's stay connected on social media and continue to cook together! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
📋 Recipe / Recette
Pan Seared Scallops Romantic Dinner Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 scallops
- 1 large cooked red beet
- 70 gram (2.5 cups) mixed baby leaf salad
- 3 Tablespoon pomegranate seeds
- ½ red onion
- Pinch of sea salt
- Pinch of ground pink peppercorn (omit if you are on AIP)
- 2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
Instructions
- Prepare dressing by combining olive oil and apple cider vinegar in a bowl.
- Prepare two plates. In the center of each plate spread half of the mixed baby lettuce. Then add the sliced red onion.
- Cut the red beet in 0.4 inches (1 cm) slices.
- In each beet slice, cut out hearts using a heart shaped cookie cutter.
- Decorate the outer side of each plate with beetroot hearts.
- Sprinkle half of the pomegranate arils/seeds on each plate. Set aside.
- Preheat a skillet over medium high heat.
- In the meantime, pat the scallops dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle the scallops with sea salt.
- When the pan is hot, add the olive oil, then drop in your scallops, giving them enough room in between so they don’t steam each other. The scallops should make a sizzling noise when you put them in the pan.
- Cook the scallops for 2 minutes undisturbed on the first side.
- When the scallops are mostly opaque and start to get a nice golden color, flip them over with a pair of tongs.
- Let the scallops cook for 2 more minutes undisturbed.
- Once cooked, add them to your plates.
- Sprinkle scallops with ground pink peppercorn for both taste and color (omit this step if you are on AIP).
- To finish off the salad, drizzle it with dressing. Serve immediately.Bon appétit!
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