seared scallops with roasted tomatoes

Leo and I made this for dinner on Friday and it blew us away. Roasting the tomatoes intensifies their sweetness with minimal effort. The cast-iron skillet creates a brown crust on the scallops that can't be achieved in a non-stick pan.

Yield: 4 servings
(serving size: about 4 1/2 ounces scallops, about 1/3 cup tomatoes, and 1 1/2 teaspoons basil)

Ingredients
3 cups grape tomatoes
Cooking spray* (we used 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds sea scallops
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
Pasta

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Arrange tomatoes in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan; lightly coat tomatoes with cooking spray or 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle tomatoes with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; toss well to coat. Broil 10 minutes or until tomatoes begin to brown, stirring occasionally.
3. While tomatoes cook, heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Pat scallops dry; sprinkle both sides of scallops with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add scallops to skillet; cook 2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Add pasta to skillet, toss with tomatoes and scallops; sprinkle with basil.
   

Nutritional Information: Calories: 204, Fat: 5.1g (sat 0.7g,mono 2.6g,poly 1g), Protein: 29.6g, Carbohydrate: 9.4g, Fiber: 1.4g, Cholesterol: 56mg, Iron: 1.1mg, Sodium: 519mg, Calcium: 49mg. (Note: Does not include nutritional information for the pasta.)
Via: Maria Everly, Cooking Light, APRIL 2009