Sea Scallop Recipes
Scallops and Haricots Verts with Creamy Bacon Vinaigrette
 Ingredients
Serve with: Unoaked California Chardonnay . wild rice with spring herbs . watercress with orange juice vinaigrette . lemon curd tart with strawberry sauce
6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
12 ounces haricots verts, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 pounds sea scallops, side muscles removed
3/4 cup white wine vinegar
3/4 cup water
2 1/4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons whipping cream
4 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
Preparation
Sauté bacon strips in heavy large skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Reserve skillet and drippings.
Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain; transfer to large bowl. Cover bowl loosely with foil.
Heat drippings in reserved skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add scallops to skillet; cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to bowl with beans; cover loosely with foil. Reserve skillet.
Whisk vinegar, water, and mustard into drippings in reserved skillet. Boil over high heat until reduced by half, stirring frequently and scraping up browned bits, about 7 minutes. Stir in whipping cream; bring sauce to boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add bacon to bowl with beans and scallops; mix gently. Divide mixture among 6 plates. Drizzle with sauce, sprinkle with dill, and serve.
Makes 6 servings.
Scallops with Mashed Potatoes with Tarragon Sauce
Ingredients
Tarragon adds its distinctive anise-like flavor to this terrific main course.
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
2/3 cup (or more) whole milk
12 sea scallops, side muscles trimmed
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped shallot
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon
Preparation
Place potatoes in large pot. Cover with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to boil over high heat. Boil until potatoes are tender when pierced with skewer, about 8 minutes. Drain. Return to pot. Using potato masher, mash potatoes. Mash in 1/4 cup butter. Stir in 2/3 cup milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 hour ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Before serving, stir over medium heat until heated through, adding more milk by tablespoonfuls if dry.)
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper. Add scallops; sauté until just opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to plate; tent with foil. Reserve juices in skillet.
Place wine and shallots in small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to glaze, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream; simmer 1 minute. Gradually whisk in remaining 1/4 cup butter. Stir in reserved pan juices. Stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons tarragon. Season tarragon sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Stir remaining 1/4 cup tarragon into warm mashed potatoes. Divide potatoes among 4 shallow bowls. Place scallops atop mashed potatoes. Drizzle with tarragon sauce and serve.
Makes 4 servings.
Scallops with Mushrooms in White-Wine Sauce
Coquilles St.-Jacques
Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 hr
Ingredients
1/4 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs from a baguette
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 oz)
1 1/4 cups dry white wine
1 cup water
1/2 small onion, sliced
1/2 Turkish or 1/4 California bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb sea scallops, tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary and scallops cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1/2 lb small mushrooms, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced lengthwise
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
8 cups kosher salt to stabilize scallop shells (if using)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
Special equipment: 16 (2 1/2-inch) scallop shells* or 8 (2-oz) ramekins
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Toast bread crumbs on a baking sheet in middle of oven until pale golden, 6 to 8 minutes, then toss with cheese.
Simmer wine, water, onion, bay leaf, salt, and pepper in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan, uncovered, 5 minutes, then add scallops and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer scallops to a platter with a slotted spoon to cool, returning any onions to pan, then boil cooking liquid until reduced to about 1 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour cooking liquid through a sieve into a bowl.
Cook mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter in a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Whisk together cream and yolk in a heatproof bowl. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in cleaned 2 1/2- to 3-quart saucepan over moderately low heat, then add flour and cook roux, whisking, 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add reduced cooking liquid in a stream, whisking constantly. Return pan to heat and simmer, whisking, 1 minute. Pour sauce in a slow stream into cream mixture, whisking constantly, then pour sauce back into pan and simmer, whisking, 1 minute. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
Preheat broiler.
Stir scallops and mushrooms into sauce, then divide among scallop shells or ramekins and sprinkle with bread crumb mixture. If using shells, spread kosher salt evenly in a large shallow baking pan, then nestle shells in salt. Dot scallops with remaining 2 tablespoons butter, then broil about 4 inches from heat until golden, about 2 minutes.
Sprinkle with parsley.
Cooks' note:
Scallop mixture can be made (but not spooned into shells or ramekins) 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat in a saucepan over moderate heat before proceeding.
Makes 8 first-course servings.
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