Scallop and Pancetta Kebabs with Balsamic Glaze

Name: Scallop and Pancetta Kebabs with Balsamic Glaze
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 42 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (preferably white balsamic); 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 1 clove garlic (finely minced); 2 teaspoons brown sugar (light or dark); Kosher salt and finely ground pepper (to taste); 1 pound sea scallops; 2 ounces pancetta (thickly sliced)

By Katie Workman

5 from 1 vote

on Dec 27, 2017, Updated Aug 13, 2023

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Sumptuous and rich - and easy as all get out.

Four Scallop and Pancetta Kebabs with Balsamic Glaze on a plate.

Blue plate of Scallop and Pancetta Kebabs with Balsamic Glaze.

I think I’m going to have to start a new section of the blog called Full Disclosure.

Which, as I write this, annoys me as it must you, because why would you assume at any point I am bullshitting in any way? If you and I can’t trust each other by now, what is this relationship built on anyway?

I come to this thought simply because sometimes (not often, but definitely sometimes) I include recipes on this blog that one kid, or both kids, or my husband, or any assortment of the aforementioned won’t eat. Even, on rare occasion, possibly hate.

Scallop and Pancetta Kebabs with Balsamic Glaze on a blue plate.

But here are some thoughts on that:

1) I rarely knowingly make things they won’t like, much less hate, unless I know they won’t be home or there are plenty of other things to choose from.

2) I sometimes really like things other people in my family don’t.

3) They are totally free to write their own cookbooks and columns and blogs. And I mean that in the least snarky way possible. I would read them all.

Scallop and Pancetta Kebabs with Balsamic Glaze piled on a plate.

And then there’s the fact that my husband really loves scallops, while Charlie…how to put this delicately….has requested that I only make scallops when he will be away for at least 24 hours because the smell makes him feel gaggy.

This is the only food that I know of that he has such strong negative feelings about. Sure, he doesn’t like other foods, but he doesn’t request a leave of absence from the house when I prepare them.

Is your mouth watering yet?

[jetpack-related-posts]

So I cut out a scallop in the shape of Mickey Mouse and he gobbled it right up!

Oh my god, really, can you imagine? Can you imagine if I actually did that? And can you imagine if he were dopey enough to fall for it?

Anyway, now the really good and compelling part about these skewers. They are pretty fabulous. You know if you like scallops. And I do. And Gary loves them, a lot.

Blue plate with a pile of Scallop and Pancetta Kebabs with Balsamic Glaze.

Scallops are pretty rich, as seafood go. Maybe richer than any other seafood I can think of, and that includes lobster, which packs a lot of richness per bite. So these are a real treat, smallish portions suffice, and they are lovely paired with generous amounts of some vegetable side or salad.

The marinade plays well against the deep flavor of the scallops. The syrupy tanginess of the balsamic vinegar plays middleman to the sharpness of the mustard and the sweetness of the brown sugar. Little slivers of pancetta interspersed between the scallops add such a sly little salty hit. Those cunning little pancetta pieces. We see you, and we love you.

Future Charlie, someday you might read this. This is what we ate when you were at camp. Maybe now that time has passed you’re on board with scallops. And then you will say, “Ma, can you please make Scallop and Pancetta Kebabs with Balsamic Glaze?” If not, believe me, your father will continue to eat your share.

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5 from 1 vote