I’ve never had a bacon-wrapped scallop before, even when I ate meat. However, I wanted to replicate this dish simply because I love the concept of tiny, fancy and sushi-shaped food. These one-bite appetizers were easy to make, used only a few ingredients and tasted amazing. Here I’ve used sliced king oyster mushroom stems for the scallops (an idea I read about in Tal Ronnen’s The Conscious Cook), Lightlife’s Organic Smoky Tempeh Strips and a garlic cream sauce with a pinch of smoked paprika added in at the end. This is succulent, smoky, rich and salty—and perfect to make for a small dinner gathering or as a starter for two.
VEGAN BACON-WRAPPED SCALLOPS WITH PAPRIKA CREAM SAUCE
- Yield: 6-8 pieces
Ingredients
for the sauce
- 1 tsp Earth Balance
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 TB coconut cream (skim it off the top part of the can)
- 4 TB homemade stock or Imagine brand No Chicken broth
- 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 king oyster mushroom stems, sliced and soaked in water for 20 minutes
- 1 TB oil
- 6–8 slices of tempeh bacon
- liquid smoke
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
To make the sauce
- Melt the vegan butter in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add in the garlic and allow to soften for about 30 seconds. Add in the coconut cream and saute for about a minute. Turn the heat up to medium and add in the broth. Allow to sizzle for a minute or two, then whisk in the paprika. Remove from the heat and transfer the sauce to another bowl.
To prepare the scallops and tempeh
- Return the pan to the stove and allow it to heat for about a minute over medium heat. Add in a little olive oil or vegan butter, then very carefully place the mushrooms into the pan. (Since they contain water, they will sputter once they hit the heat.) Place a lid over the top and allow the mushrooms to cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until they are slightly brown on top. Remove from the heat and transfer to another plate to cool.In the same saute pan, add a little more oil if the pan is dry, then add in the tempeh strips. Allow to cook on each side for 4-5 minutes, checking them occasionally to ensure they do not burn. Once they are almost done, add a few dashes of liquid smoke, then allow it to sizzle, then remove from the heat.
To assemble
- Wrap a piece of tempeh around the scallop so both end slightly overlap each other. Cut off any excess, then spear with a toothpick. Spoon an little of the sauce over the top and serve immediately.
Kittee Bee Berns says
So pretty and clever!
xo
kittee
Michelle says
Whoa! These look amazing! Totally bookmarking
VeggieAmanda says
One word for this recipe- WOW!
Jenny says
Question: why soak the mushroom stalks in water?
omgoshimvegan says
I am drooling over here. Wow. These look amazing.
Erinwiko says
These are super impressive for such simple ingredients! This recipe makes me want to host a cocktail party just so I have the excuse to serve such fanciness!
Angela says
Oh my! This is incredible! I will definitely be trying this at my next dinner party. Wow. Just wow.
I added it to my "to try" Vegan MoFo Pinterest Board: http://pinterest.com/vegangela/vegan-mofo-2012/
Caitlin says
you make such magical food, erin, and your husband takes beautiful photos of it. these look so savory and delicious, i could jut about pull them out of the computer screen with my fingers.
erinwyso says
aw, thanks Caitlin! I shared your comment with jeff.
p.s. Congrats on your new purchase! : )
JENNA says
This looks amazing!
Cara says
Utter UTTER genius!!!
^_^ says
Woah this is so clever and they look delish- the photos are beautiful too!
LittleMonsterx14 says
so interesting!
Rachel says
These are amazing! Happy MOFO! <3
Rachel says
These are amazing! Your food photography is stellar, btw 🙂 Happy MoFo – I am excited to spend a month watching your creations!
snarkyvegan says
Great use of mushroom stems!
Cadry says
Wow, those are flippin' pretty!
cgvegan says
These look amazing! I just hope I can find some oyster mushrooms!
Anonymous says
So creative, fancy, and gourmet!
Lisa Marie @ MidwestVeg says
Beautiful photos! They look too pretty to eat. Although I wouldn't mind eating one or two of those right now. Yum!
Fanny says
wooooaaa that looks so fancy and tasty!
Carol Weaver says
This looks lovely! I think I'll try it with some tofu bacon because I'm not the biggest fan of tempeh bacon.
Mary Worrell says
Wow! This looks so delicious! 🙂
Angry Asian says
how did your husband like this?
i'm sitting here wondering how mushroom stems compares to scallops. this item would totally blow my friends' minds if i were to ever serve them this. you come up with the best ideas for food!
erinwyso says
He liked them! The secret here is to soak the sliced stems in water so they cook up soft like a scallop. Easy peasy! Thanks Lan!
Jillian says
Thank you. Good pointer.
Alex in Leeds says
That's just beautiful. *swoon*
christine says
wow- stunning in appearance, and I'm betting they tasted great too:) Clever girl!
Mandee says
Oohers this does look very elegant! I love the idea of using mushies – that means this is something I could try!
Gnoe (@Graasland) says
Looking absolutely awesome and complex! Can't believe they're really easy to make… 😉
Ashley F. says
I have no words for this except for 'Yum' and 'Seriously?' – love it!
Lisa Mai says
Wow I'm actually obscenely excited to make these. I have missed seafood so much since I went vegetarian and these just look so freaking goooood!
corrinadarling says
Amazing! Way to start Mofo with a bang! I must try this as my husband is a scallop lover.
adriennefriend says
Oh, I SO hope you are secretly working on a cookbook… I will buy every copy. :)Seriously, though, your recipes often remind me of Peter Berley's or Myra Kornfeld – high praise, as I am sure you well know!
thejollyfox.com says
I made a version of these last year with tofu scallops—can I tell you how insanely good (and better) yours look?!? Must give these another try w/ mushrooms! 🙂
Amey says
how fun! they are so pretty and perfect looking. I've never had a real-life scallop! I think my husband would like these… thanks! 🙂
Don't Get Mad Get Vegan! says
wow. they're stunning. must try. thank you!
Whiny Vegans says
These look incredible!
Nina says
The 3rd(?) recipe of yours that I will be making tonight. Thank you. You're teaching me how to cook!
erinwyso says
That's awesome Nina! I hope that you liked this dish. And I'm so happy that the blog is useful to you! : )
Nina says
I wanted to come back and comment… I've made this recipe twice now, and it's been wonderful both times! I now keep a regular supply of french horn or king trumpet mushroom at home for when vegan scallops are mandatory (which feels like every day). And who knew that I would eventually love tempeh?!
erinwyso says
Thanks Nina! I do the same thing with the mushrooms. : ) Glad you like the recipe!
Jillian says
Is King Trumpet the same as King Oyster? I’m a forager, and in the wild, “trumpets” and “oysters” are different. Though, trumpets, a member of the chanterelle family, would be awesome for their sweet buttery flavor — except you’d need the whole mushroom. I’ve never heard of King Oysters — no idea where to get them. So glad to see posts of having tried this!
I’m going to try it with carrot “bacon” though — really don’t like tempeh.
MrEnglish says
Fantastic. I love your blog and as an ex-pro photographer, your husband does an excellent job of photographing your cooking. Its a sign that you both have passion for what you do.
erinwyso says
Thank you for your kind words!
Allie says
Thank you for this recipe! They came out amazing, we used vegan scallops instead of mushrooms. We posted a review on our new veg cooking blog, http://adventurebuddiez.blogspot.com/2013/05/vegetarian-bacon-wrapped-scallops.html
erinwyso says
Glad you enjoyed, awesome review!
Allie says
Thanks! We also made your calzones, I'll let you know when the review is up. Spoiler alert: it was awesome!
erinwyso says
haha, awesome … glad you enjoyed!
Sue says
Would this be appropriate for a potluck (where it would cool down)?
Kay Goodman says
This was a great recipe, however, I had trouble wrapping the ‘scallops’ with the cooked vegan bacon. Tried several times with varying degrees of doneness on the bacon, and it broke and was not pliable each time. Ended up crumbling the bacon and using as a garnish. Still tasted great. Used vegan bacon from Whole Foods. Also, needed to torch the scallops to make them look grilled. Tasty recipe, though!
★★★★