I have been enjoying the baked tomato, feta and fresh herb flavour combination a lot lately and it was still stuck in my head. I was introduced to this flavour combo in the form of shrimp saganaki and since I first tried it I have been experimenting with different versions and there was one more that I wanted to try, a scallop saganaki. Shrimp may be my favorite seafood but scallops are not too far down and I was salivating at the thought of baking some up in that tomato and feta sauce. This recipe is pretty easy; you start by making a simple tomato sauce on the stove top, mix in the feta and scallops and transfer to a baking dish to finish cooking in the oven. The scallop saganaki turned out really well! There was one small snag in that the scallops released a bit of water into the sauce while they cooked but it was just as tasty in the end. Since this dish is more of an appetizer you will probably want to use the smaller bite sized scallops as they would be easier to eat in appetizer fashion. I served the scallop saganaki with some crusty bread to make sure that none of that tasty sauce went to waste.
Scallop Saganaki
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 small onion (diced)
- 1 clove garlic (chopped)
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 medium tomato (diced)
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 handful fresh herbs (chopped, I used dill and parsley)
- 1/4 pound scallops
- 1/2 cup feta (crumbled)
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan.
- Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the tomato, oregano, salt and pepper and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and mix in the fresh herbs, scallops and feta.
- Transfer to a baking dish and bake in a preheated 425F/220C oven until the sauce is bubbly, about 10 minutes.
Sonya says
April 16, 2010 at 12:38 amThis looks great. I'm thinking with a nice green salad this would make a perfect light dinner.
Michelle J says
April 16, 2010 at 1:24 amOh, YUM! 🙂
In the Greek restaurant where I used to work, Saganaki was actually a delicious flaming cheese dish. Weird…
Bridgett says
April 16, 2010 at 2:02 amThat is a gorgeous scallop dish. I am going to make this for my husband this weekend.
Cakebrain says
April 16, 2010 at 2:11 amthis has got to be good! I love shrimp saganaki so scallop has to be super delicious too!
Kat says
April 16, 2010 at 3:34 amI love scallops AND shrimp! Decisions, decisions. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to make both the shrimp and scallop saganaki. 🙂
Belinda @zomppa says
April 16, 2010 at 3:38 amLOOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE scallops. They look so plump!
Jane says
April 16, 2010 at 3:54 amI never quite know what to do with scallops except broil them … this looks like a great way to make them into a celebratory dish!
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
April 16, 2010 at 6:50 amThat version looks awesome! Delicious, light and so refined.
Cheers,
Rosa
Ana Powell says
April 16, 2010 at 8:46 amYummy and very refined scallop dish.
Delicious recipe x
Kevin says
April 16, 2010 at 10:42 amMichelle J: Saganaki is actually the name of the dish that both dishes are made in. The flaming cheese saganaki is also really good!
Ioana says
April 16, 2010 at 1:41 pmThis looks absolutely delicious! I can't wait to try it!
Dani says
April 16, 2010 at 3:49 pmI posted a link to your blog on the sidebar of my blog http://positivelyblissful.blogspot.com
If you mind, let me know and I'll remove the link. If you don't mind…well…good!! 🙂
Rambling Tart says
April 16, 2010 at 8:10 pmFantastic, Kevin! Sopping up that gorgeous sauce with that crusty bread is just heavenly!
Anonymous says
April 16, 2010 at 9:18 pmLove it Kevin!! I have 4 pounds of scallops in my deep freeze – this is perfect!!
Raised garden beds says
April 20, 2010 at 6:53 amIs this a Japanese dish? I love Japanese dish so much. Thank you for sharing this mouth-watering recipe.
Kevin says
April 21, 2010 at 10:56 amRaised garden beds: This is a Greek inspired dish where saganaki is the name of the pan used to make the dish.
Peter M says
April 22, 2010 at 1:24 pmWOW Kevin…where did you ever get the inspiration to use scallops in a Saganaki dish? 😉
Jessica @ The Cooking Chick says
April 23, 2010 at 4:23 amI just recently made this dish and I loved the flavors and simple ingredients. I used a medium sized tomato, but I did not find mine as "saucy" as yours… what did I miss?
I added kalamata olives, and the briny taste fit right in with the flavors of this dish.
Kevin says
April 24, 2010 at 11:17 amJessica @ The Cooking Chick: When using fresh tomatoes in a sauce like this you want to cook them in the pan until they get really soft; soft enough that when you push on them with a spoon that they easily give. At this point they have released a lot of moisture and you want to simmer it a bit more until it thickens up a bit making it saucy.
You could also use a cup of tinned tomatoes which start off closer to the state that you are looking for and just simmer them a bit to thicken up the juices that came with them.
Catering Equipment says
April 25, 2010 at 1:13 amI tried your receipe with a little variation of adding some freshly chopped chillis to it (sorry!) and it was divine. Try this receipe with some toasted turkish bread and you will love it.
Greene Treats says
May 12, 2012 at 6:50 pmYou are such a brilliant cook! Are you sure you aren't a classical trained culinary student?? maybe in a past life…
I have a question for you, what is the brand of the bread that you feature in many of your posts? It looks like some amazing crusty, soft sourdough… Cheers,
Kevin says
May 17, 2012 at 10:41 amGreene Treats: The bread in this photo is a ciabatta made by a local grocery store called Metro.