Pan Seared Scallop BLT

Ingredients

• 2-3 Idaho® potatoes – large
• 12 jumbo sea scallops
• ¼ lb pancetta (Italian bacon) thinly sliced
• ¼ lb arugula
• 4 plum tomatoes sliced ¼” thick
• 1 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped herbs
• 1 tablespoon shallots or onion, finely diced
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Mix the mayonnaise and lemon juice together, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350°. Peel the potatoes. Slice the potatoes into strips approximately 5 inches long by ¾ of an inch wide and ⅛ of an inch thick. (Use a mandoline if accessible.)
3. Spread ½ cup of olive oil evenly onto a 12 by 24 inch sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper- Lay 3 potato slices vertically, parallel to each other and ¾ of an inch apart. Lay 3 more potato slice horizontally on top of first three, also parallel and ¼ of an inch apart forming a lattice. (We like to call it a potato fence.) Repeat procedure until you have eight fences on the sheet pan.
4. Place sheet pan in oven and cook for approximately 15 minutes or until bottom potatoes start to brown. With a metal spatula, carefully flip each fence over. Cook for another 10 minutes until all potatoes are a light golden brown. Remove potatoes from sheet pan and place on paper towels to blot the oil. Note: If potatoes won’t stick together, baste with an egg wash.
5. While preparing potatoes, cook the pancetta on a sheet pan for 20 minutes or until crisp. Remove the blot on the paper towels.
6. Toss the tomatoes in ¼ cup of the olive oil, herbs, and shallot, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
7. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, add ⅛ cup of oil and cook 6 scallops till golden brown on both sides. Remove scallops from pan and repeat with remaining oil and scallops. Wipe out sauté pan with a clean rag and quickly cook reserve tomatoes in the same pan for approximately 2 minutes.
8. Build your BLT sandwich with 4 potato fences in the center of 4 plates, then divide ¼ of the tomatoes, scallops, pancetta, and arugula on top of the fences. Place remaining 4 fences on top. Drizzle lemon mayonnaise around each BLT.