Proscuitto Wrapped Sea Scallops with White Beans, Chard and Cherry Tomato

As unimaginable as it is that 2010 is half-over, June was a fun month. Really fun. We traveled to My Baby's youngest daughter's college graduation. We attended a high school graduation party. I met and spent a weekend with My Baby's old grad school friends. We roasted marshmallows and watched fireflies. We had a phenomenal meal at Piccolo Restaurant in Minneapolis, and a fun lunch at Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter in Stillwater, Minnesota. We dined with guests under our apple tree. We hosted my future sister-in-law and her lovable and handsome puppy, Ranger, for a delightful weekend. We had dinner with all three of my grown children and my daughter-in-law all at the same time. We drove the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, and tasted our way through a generous sampling of Washington wine. For the second time, I heard an amazing musician, Jonatha Brooke, at an outdoor concert. I moved into a cute new part-time pad in my work-away-from-home town.
Somehow we managed to keep up with the garden and lawn and our day-job responsibilities besides during our busy June fun. And we managed to craft several delicious meals at home.
Here's one of them, and it's delicious. Speed is the name of the game with this one; only about 12 minutes once you've got your ingredients prepped:

Proscuitto-Wrapped Sea Scallops with White Beans, Chard and Cherry Tomatoes

3-5 bay scallops per person

1/2 slice thin proscuitto per scallop

one hefty bunch rainbow chard, roughly sliced

one pint cherry tomatoes, washed and stemmed

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

one 15 ounce can white beans, lightly drained

chopped fresh rosemary

chopped flat-leaf parsley

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Gently warm beans with a good-sized pinch of the fresh rosemary in a small saucepan.

Wrap proscuitto around scallops and secure with a toothpick. Heat a decent splash of olive oil in a saute pan. When oil is quite warm, place scallops in pan. Turn scallops to evenly brown on all sides, allowing proscuitto to brown well before turning, about 4 minutes total. When done, remove to plate and loosely cover to keep warm.

Add a swirl more olive oil to scallop/proscuitto juices in same saute pan. Toss in sliced garlic and stir well for one minute, moderating heat as to not brown or burn garlic. Throw in another big pinch of rosemary. Add tomatoes, allowing them to blister on each side before turning. Blister on all sides. Toss in slice chard, stirring frequently, for about two minutes more until well wilted and the tomatoes are just beginning to give up their juices. Salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, spoon the white beans into a deep bowl. Top with chard/tomato mixture. Place scallops on top, and sprinkle with parsley. With a well-chilled Pinot Gris, this is delightful.