Skew­ered Grilled Scal­lops with Bacon and Basil

(serves 6 as a main course)

24 large scallops
12 strips bacon, cut in half to make 24
24 large basil leaves
fresh ground black pepper
6 skew­ers (the kind made from rose­mary stems, if you’re lucky to have them as a Christ­mas gift from your moth­er-in-law, Rosemary)

This could­n’t be sim­pler. Wrap each scal­lop first in a basil leaf, then in a strip of bacon, and string them on the skew­ers, four per skew­er. Grill on one side at the high­est heat (450-ish) for four min­utes, then for the sec­ond four min­utes, turn fre­quent­ly so the bacon cooks well, then blast it for 30 sec­onds with the grill lid shut at the very end.

PER­FEC­TION! The bacon is crisp and salty, the scal­lops ten­der, soft and creamy, the basil a refresh­ing zip of green beauty.