Prosciutto-Wrapped Scallops with Romesco Sauce

Our good friends, Mike and Romy, are coming to visit this weekend and they love my home cooked meals. We have a hike in Marin, a visit to Napa, our engagement party at Press Club and the Lost finale. Yes, the Lost finale. I can't believe that I am doing a post on this but this is Drew's favorite show so I have decided to cook a feast for Sunday's big night. I figured surf and turf would be the way to go considering we'll be staring at a bunch of people trapped on a tropical island.

For the 'surf' part, I am thinking that this new recipe from this month's Bon Appetit should do the trick. Best part is that it is easy and I won't miss the show!

Prosciutto-Wrapped Scallops with Romesco Sauce

• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 4 sun-dried tomato halves packed in oil, drained
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1/4 cup chopped drained piquillo peppers or roasted red peppers from jar
• 1/4 cup whole almonds
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse kosher salt

• 8 paper-thin slices prosciutto, each slice cut lengthwise into 3 long strips
• 12 sea scallops, halved horizontally
• Olive oil
• Coarse kosher salt
• Fresh thyme leaves (for garnish)

• Before cooking the scallops, be sure to remove the muscle, which can be tough when cooked. Find the muscle by looking for the white strip that runs up the side of the scallop. You can usually pull it off with your fingers, but you may need to use a paring knife to tease the muscle away from the rest of the scallop.

Romesco sauce

• Combine wine, tomatoes, and garlic in small saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until wine is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
• Transfer tomato mixture to processor. Add peppers, almonds, and oil and blend until coarse puree forms. Transfer to small bowl. Season to taste with coarse salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before using.

Scallops

• Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Wrap 1 prosciutto strip around center of each scallop half, pressing ends together to seal. Arrange scallops on prepared sheet. DO AHEAD Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill.
• Preheat broiler. Brush scallops lightly with oil; sprinkle with pepper and lightly with coarse salt. Broil scallops until opaque in center and prosciutto is almost crisp, turning scallops over halfway through broiling, 1 to 2 minutes per side, depending on size of scallops. Arrange scallops on platter. Top each with small dollop of romesco sauce and a few thyme leaves.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Scallops with Romesco Sauce