Ramp-Wrapped Scallops Are Better Than Bacon-Wrapped Scallops

I have never fully understood the appeal of a bacon-wrapped scallop. Though I love both of these treasures, meaty, cured bacon is simply too aggressive for the delicate, sweet scallop. It’s self-defeating lily gilding, and I don’t like it. Plus, unless you pre-cook it, the bacon doesn’t have enough time to crisp up properly.

But a seared scallop wrapped in a ramp leaf (which is basically rollable garlic)? That, my friends, is the kind of bougie decadence this rampscallion can get behind.

Like the scallop, simple preparations are best when it comes to ramps. Fat, salt, and heat are all you need to make either sing, and a garlicky, wilted ramp leaf provides just enough savoury contrast without distracting from the scallop’s soft and sweet charms.

Use salted butter and you don’t even have to season anything (unless you want pepper, which is your prerogative). Simply wrap, sear, and eat. To make these springtide sea treasures, you will need:

  • 250 grams of large scallops (about 5 or 6)

  • 5 or 6 ramp leaves

  • 3 tablespoons salted butter

Clean the ramps well — they are wild, after all — and remove the leaves from the rest of the allium (save it for roasting, frying, or pesto-making). Wrap each leaf around a scallop and secure with a toothpick. Heat the butter in a stainless steel pan over high heat until it stops foaming and begins to brown.

Add the scallops, and cook for about a minute and a half on each side (a crust of about 1/4 inch should form on the top and bottom). While the scallops cook, splash the browning butter on the ramp leaves to soften them. Serve immediately.

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