Yum. My most perfect attempt at sea scallops ever! This was perfection.
While I was waiting for hubby to get home, I prepped everything since scallops cook so quickly.
So first I made a bed that I would serve the scallops on - arugula, sugar snap peas (raw) and just barely steamed haricot verts. I actually got the ones from Trader Joes that I could just open and pop in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Then I chopped one large shallot (the recipe said 2 TB but I did not measure) and measured out 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar and 1/4 cup white wine. I grabbed one stalk of rosemary out of our roofdeck garden and chopped it up for the sauce. The recipe called for tarragon, but I love to use our fresh rooftop herbs so I did a little subbing out-
Then I washed the scallops, pulled off the mussel on the side, and then patted them dry. I sprinkled both sides with salt and pepper and I was ready to go.
Once I knew we were 15 min from dinner, I heated a saucepan on high and then added 1 TB of butter. Once the butter foam calmed down I knew the pan was hot enough and added the scallops. Let them get a nice crust on the first side, cooking for about 2-3 minutes. Then flip the scallops and let them cook for another 2 minutes. Don't overcook!
Once the scallops are cooked, I removed them from the pan to a plate (not the salad yet - they will kick out some juices) and tented with foil. Quickly add the white wine & white wine vinegar to the pan, scraping the browned bits as you go. Add the shallot and cook until reduced until about 1/4 of a cup (so about 1/2 the total volume.) If the scallops released any juices on the plate, you can add those, too.
Once the sauce is reduced, add 3 TB of butter and incorporate into the sauce. The recipe then calls for 3 more TB, but I only added one more TB of butter until it was incorporated. Then add the herbs (rosemary in my case) and a sprinkle of salt and stir to ensure everything is mixed.
Place the scallops on top of the greens and pour the sauce overtop. Serve immediately.
This got a 9.5 from hubby and a 10 from me. The perfect light summertime meal! I would serve with some crusty bread to scoop up the rest of the sauce.
