Dinner for Two, Created Just for You by José Andrés

Seared scallops with tzatziki, Cypriot potatoes and watermelon and feta salad make the perfect meal for two. AARP (Thomas Schauer, 3; Francois Nel/Getty Images) Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Jump to recipes Seared Scallops With Tzatziki • Cypriot-Style Potatoes (Patates Antinahtes) • Watermelon and Feta Salad (Karpouzi Me Feta)

Summer is a time for simple cooking. Markets are bursting with juicy ripe fruits and freshly picked vegetables — so many amazing ingredients! If I’m not outside grilling, then I’m making

meals that can come together quickly and can be served just warm or at room temperature. At my Zaytinya restaurants, we celebrate the foods of the eastern Mediterranean — Greece, Turkey and

Lebanon — where recipes are inspired by the sun and the sea and are perfect for summer. We serve these dishes as mezze — small plates meant to be shared — just like the tapas we serve at my

Jaleo restaurants. When you combine just a few dishes, you have a perfect meal for two.

Here, I’m sharing some of my favorite flavor-packed dishes from my new cookbook, Zaytinya: Delicious Mediterranean Dishes from Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon. You’ll find a mix of tastes and

textures — cool, sweet and savory — with these recipes for Seared Scallops With Tzatziki, Cypriot-Style Potatoes and Watermelon and Feta Salad. I’ve adapted these recipes to make enough for

two, so just add a chilled bottle of Greek Assyrtiko wine and you’ll have an astonishing meal any night of the week.

Publishers

Tzatziki is an extremely flexible dish. You can eat it as a dressing on lamb and beef gyros, as a dip for warm pita or make it a salad by tossing it with a bunch of seasonal vegetables. The

creamy yogurt in tzatziki brings out the natural sweetness in scallops. Season the scallops with our Sumac Rose Spice (see below), and you’ll find an unexpected aroma and tartness (and a new

spice mix that will become a favorite!). When shopping for scallops, look for 10/20 size (10 to 20 make up a pound), and make sure they’re dry packed, meaning they haven’t been

artificially plumped up with water and additives. When cooking them, get a good dark golden sear, but don’t cook them beyond that — you want to make sure they don’t get chewy.

Ingredients½ small red radish, ends trimmed2 tablespoons canola oilKosher salt½ cup tzatziki (recipe follows)8 large scallops, cleaned and side muscle removed½ teaspoon Sumac Rose Spice

(recipe follows) or sumac4 to 6 pea tendrils (or leaves from a sprig of fresh flat-leaf parsley)½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oilFlaky sea salt Directions

Thinly slice the radish, preferably using a mandoline or box slicer. Place the slices in a bowl of ice water.

To prepare the scallops, warm the canola oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Line a plate with paper towels. Gently dry the scallops with a paper towel and season with salt. Add the

scallops to the hot pan and sear on both sides until dark golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the scallops to the lined plate to drain.

To serve, divide the tzatziki between two plates and spread across the bottoms. Set four scallops on each plate and sprinkle with Sumac Rose Spice (or sumac). Garnish each plate with radish

slices and pea tendrils, then drizzle with olive oil and season with flaky sea salt.

sumac½ teaspoon coarsely ground cumin½ tablespoon toasted sesame seeds1 teaspoon Urfa pepper (Try red chile flakes or freshly ground black pepper if you can’t find Urfa pepper.) Directions

For the Sumac Rose Spice, grind pink peppercorns in a spice grinder or small food processor until finely ground. Add rose petals and pulse until the petals are crushed into very small

pieces. Transfer the pepper and rose petals to a small mixing bowl and add sumac, ground cumin, toasted sesame seeds and Urfa pepper. Stir together until well combined and store in an

airtight container for up to 3 weeks. Use this aromatic sweet-spicy mixture on seafood and meat.