Wild rice pilaf and asparagus.

Oooh, that sounds good. A nice rice pilaf would be good as well. And some steamed vegetables? I love scallops but have never made them at home. I really should get out of my comfort zone and give them a try.

Or couscous and asparagus

Something green, spinach, asparagus,

Couscous. ooh, and asparagus. Or sautéed spinach.

I'm really hungry all of a sudden...

Risotto and asparagus.

I second risotto and asparagus.

A long gone local restaurant served pan seared scallops over a creamy polenta with a rustic roasted tomato sauce. It was my favorite dish off a really excellent menu :-)

The risotto and asparagus or spinach sounds good, too.

I always like asparagus for some reason.

There is a subsection of humanity who find that seafood (of any kind) served with anything involving cheese or cream clash and don't go together well. I happen to be one of them, you may or may not be.

We typically have a few different veggies with scallops, maybe a green one plus a salad. Those that are not too strong so as to not overpower the subtle flavor of the scallops. I personally wouldn't have anything alfredo (cheese and cream) or any risotto with cheese.

You may not dislike the flavor combination as I do.

I wouldn’t serve anything with scallops other than crusty bread. If they’re fresh they don’t need any competing flavours imo. I don’t dislike the suggestions above but I agree with Elmer that good scallops need no help. I’d serve the risotto, pasta or whatever after the scallops not with.

I've always considered a good side dish as a complement rather than a competition. My choice of sides for scallops would include rice or risotto and a simple green veggie. I'm on the no cheese and cream side when it comes to seafoods. They coat the tongue, reducing the delicate flavor of the seafood.

It depends on what type of scallops. We only like “dry” sea scallops (no salty plumping chemical juice added).

We would probably only pan fry them in butter. Saute, never. These overcook if not watched carefully. IMO, they want to be pan seared, only “just” done in center. Hot pan, butter melt, then put in your already patted dry scallops (and you have removed that piece a tough muscle).

Keep it simple. Asparagus side or a simple salad of greens after the scallops, not with them. Fresh sea scallops have a lovely gentle flavor and texture. They are “rich.” Savor every delicious bite. Heavenly.

"We only like “dry” sea scallops"

Exactly right. "Wet" scallops ooze water when heated and can't be seared to a lovely and good tasting brown. I tend to use a little butter and oil together, the temperature of a hot pan can cause the butter to burn.

Stores and staff at fish counters often don't know the difference nor know what they have. Perhaps it's different on the east coast.

I have about a 50% batting average in my area. The only sure source I have is a restaurant supply seafood business that sells small amounts to walk-ins to their warehouse. They have both types and what they sell as dry are reliably so.

I normally only serve crusty bread, rice pilaf, and asparagus with salmon or scallops. If the asparagus at the store isn't acceptable I usually have some from my garden in the freezer. An alternative would be a sauteed veggie medley of whatever looks good when I am grocery shopping.

Here is a link that explains “wet” versus “dry” scallops and how to pan sear sea scallops.

https://www.splendidtable.org/story/2016/04/01/why-you-should-cook-with-dry-scallops

Pat dry, use “dry” untreated scallops. Set them into butter or butter-oil mix in hot pan, and Do Not Move them — let them develop a crust.

Don’t overcook, think “rare, medium rare” except for browned crust either side.

And, please, remember to pull off that attached piece of other muscle, the texture of which is like denim. If you want, you can make a little seafood broth with these tough pieces, add something like shrimp oof other seafood. Make a little bowl of flavorful broth for ramen. But don’t try to eat, chew those bits. And, unless you are dealing with 10 pounds of scallops, it is definitely not worth freezing there small amount for “later.” Trust me on this one. 🙃

ETA: STPP — sounds like an automobile fuel additive or something Walter White would be familiar with.

Mmm. Maybe that explains why I‘d go for no accompaniments other than crusty bread. I’d never heard of wet scallops. The ones I’ve eaten have always been fresh, preferably with their coral still attached. All they needed was a swift trip through a dollop of hot butter. I can see that if they’ve been processed, and possibly even frozen, they are just lumps of fishy material rather than a delectable morsel that needs no improvement. With fresh seafood the more simply it’s prepared the better imo.

The other thing which I’d insist on is that they’re hand dived and not dredged. Scallop dredging destroys the seabed.

Unfortunately fresh, unfrozen scallops aren't available in many parts of the US. The only place I can recall eating fresh scallops was in Manila, PI at a seafood market back in the early 90s. They were so fresh that they were still alive and in their shell hanging out in a water tank. You'd select what you wanted and how you wanted it prepared. Huge 6" prawns were fantastic!

My grocery used to sell stuffed scallops that were really good but for some reason they don't carry them any more.

I suspect sea scallops can be flash frozen without the STPP. A lot of seafood can be flash frozen (fast frozen, not like a home freezer that is not cold enough and which gives ice crystals time to develop — that makes for a watery fish when defrosted.

floral, simplicity can be delicious, but I have had great seafood prepared with “lots of other things going on.” If sea scallops are $20/pound in a coastal state, I can only imagine the prohibitive cost and rarity of diver harvested.

I once had a delicious simply poached haddock or similar in Milan. Who knew.

"I suspect sea scallops can be flash frozen without the STPP. A lot of seafood can be flash frozen (fast frozen, not like a home freezer that is not cold enough and which gives ice crystals time to develop — that makes for a watery fish when defrosted."

From what I understand about it, yes and no. The STPP causes the fish material to absorb water. It weighs more because of the increased internal water content, can be sold for more. It's not a matter of exterior water, or water from being defrosted. Also not a matter of whether flash frozen or not. That affects texture more.

With wet scallops, the absorbed water is released when even room temperature scallops are heated. Water can only get to 212 degrees, too low a temperature to produce a sear. When I find myself with wet scallops, I have a handful of paper towels ready to try to blot water out of the pan. It's a bit better than not but really, wet scallops can't be seared. That affects the taste.

Agree. They can get more $ because more weight.

Haddock if frozen quickly (flash frozen, no STPP) when processed at sea. Absolutely fine. If you freeze fish yourself, in a home freezer, it grows ice crystals which changes the texture and results in a watery defrosted fish when compared to factory ship flash/fast frozen. All edible.

That additive can be detected in the taste. Off taste. Pass the hot sauce! Hahaha