Red Pepper Scallops on Potato Pancakes - Leftovers in Low Lighting

This red pepper scallop dish is sort of a rarity for me. I usually don't shoot after dark, as the food looks much better when I have a combination of natural and overhead lights. It's also rare for leftovers to star in these video recipes, since I don't bother setting up all the equipment when I'm just throwing something together. But this time, for some reason I had a feeling, and I'm glad the camera was rolling.

I had a little bit of mashed potato, half a roasted red pepper (see bonus clip below), and a pound of scallops left over from a ceviche recipe I'm doing for About.com. I do have to admit I'm guessing at the ingredient amounts below. This was fast and fun - no recipes, no measuring - just intuitive cooking. The sad thing about cooking like that is I will never have the exact same dish again. Which is what made it so good. Enjoy.



Ingredients for 4 small or 2 large portion:
3/4 cup cold mashed potatoes
1 egg
2 tbsp bread crumbs
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
olive oil
1 pound scallops
cayenne pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp capers
1/2 roasted and peeled red bell pepper
whole fresh basil leaves

Watch this clip if you need a fire-roasted pepper refresher: