I love to shop at Trader Joe's. That's where I purchased a bag of Wild Japanese Sea Scallops. They were reasonably priced, though rather small. I love scallops, and my favorite way to eat them is to sear them. These were cooked in less than 3 minutes, and I made a quick herb butter sauce.

With that, I served Ina Garten's Ricotta cakes (cooked to a golden brown with panko crumbs) and steamed green beans with an herb butter (that I keep in my freezer for convenience). I'll post that recipe later on in the week.





I followed the recipe (really, it's more of a technique) from Fine Cooking.

Perfectly Seared Scallops

Dry thoroughly, cook briefly, and sauce simply to enjoy their subtly sweet richness

by Molly Stevens There are few main courses as elegant and yet as simple as a dish of seared sea scallops. Sweet, tender, mild, and delectable—the less you fuss with scallops, the better they taste. The best way I’ve found to cook plump, meaty scallops is to sear them quickly in a hot pan so that the outsides get a lovely crisp, brown crust and the insides remains tender and creamy. Then, to dress them up, I whip up a speedy pan sauce in the same pan.

Getting a great sear isn’t hard if you keep these points in mind.

Dry scallops are essential — At the store, ask for dry sea scallops, which means that they haven’t been soaked in a sodium solution. The solution whitens and plumps the scallops, but when you cook them, all that liquid leaches out, making it impossible to achieve a good sear.

Get the pan and cooking fat hot — Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat for a minute or so; then add the fat and let it heat up. If you’re using oil, it’s ready when a drop of liquid sizzles as it hits the hot oil. If you’re using oil and butter, wait until the butter stops foaming.

Don’t crowd the pan — There should be enough room between the scallops so that they sizzle rather than steam—that’s the only way you’ll get a good crust. If your pan isn’t big enough to hold the scallops without crowding, sear them in batches.

Scallops only need a few minutes per side to get nicely browned. They’re done when they feel barely firm to the touch, and when you cut into one, it should be faintly opalescent. Don’t overcook them or they’ll be dry and rubbery.

After transferring the seared scallops to a platter, make a quick pan sauce. The idea is to choose just a handful of ingredients that complement one another to make a lively sauce for your perfectly seared scallops.

Photo: Scott Phillips

From Fine Cooking 72, pp. 48

Classic Herb Butter Sauce for Seared Scallops

by Molly Stevens

This French pan sauce works well with parsley and chives, but other good candidates are tarragon, chervil, dill, and basil.Yields enough for 1 lb. seared scallops.

ingredients

3 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into six pieces
2 Tbs. finely diced shallot (1 medium shallot)
1/4 cup dry white vermouth or dry white wine
1/4 cup finely chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as flat-leaf parsley and chives
1/4 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 lemon wedges for serving

how to make

using 1 Tbs. each extra-virgin olive oil and unsalted butter to sear the scallops.

When the scallops have been transferred to a plate and the pan has cooled somewhat, return the pan to medium heat. Add a piece of the butter (1/2 Tbs.) and the shallots and sauté until the shallots begin to soften, about 1 minute. Add the vermouth or wine and simmer until reduced by about half, another 1 to 2 min. Add the herbs and lemon zest. Reduce the heat to low, add the remaining butter, and whisk constantly until the butter melts into the sauce. Return the scallops and any accumulated juices to the pan. Gently roll the scallops in the sauce to warm them through. Taste for salt and pepper and serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side to squeeze over the scallops.

From Fine Cooking 72, pp. 49

July 1, 2005

Click here for printable recipe