Scallops present an elegant package: perfect flattened cylinder of sweet, succulent, white flesh. The trick is to not toughen or overwhelm it. One must begin with the freshest of fresh. Fishermen eat them straight from the shell, moments out of the sea. A sushi master trolls for the best in the market, shaves one almost into two horizontally, and offers it raw on its rice boat with a tad of green mustard and soy. Seviche pickles it a few hours in lime juice, sweet onions, tomatoes, scallions, fresh coriander, and hot peppers.

Everything depends on fresh. At the fish monger, look for ‘diver scallops’ or ‘day boat scallops’ or ‘dry scallops’. Each indicate that they appear on sale the day after they are caught. Avoid at all costs the ones sitting in a wet preservative bath (all too common) that have been held in abeyance for days. They taste awful.

Here’s a quick method of cooking them stove top. Spoon a teaspoon or two of prepared herbs or ground spices in the center of a large plate. Good choices might be sumac (a tart Persian spice), or minced fresh lemon thyme and finely grated lemon zest, or Chinese five-spice, or Paul Prudhomme’s ‘Blackened Redfish Magic’ (Cajun), or a very finely ground mix of star anise, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, cumin and coriander seeds. Or whatever dry, grainy seasoning seizes your fancy. Pat each scallop dry, touch one side lightly on the particles, then set it down on the plate.

Once all are readied, heat a couple tablespoons of butter together with a half tablespoon of corn or grape seed oil (to prevent the butter from scorching) over medium high heat in a large black cast iron pan. Let the butter just begin to color (and perfume to) nut brown. Quickly array the scallops spiced side down in the pan, and brown only a minute or two. Flip and sear on the second side. Stop before they’re completely cooked through lest they toughen. Serve with rice, a delicate green, and fresh salad.