Seared Scallops with Asparagus Sauce

Name: Seared Scallops with Asparagus Sauce
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 6 sea scallops; 1 serving Salt; 454 grams asparagus; 118 milliliters warm chicken broth (if cooking gluten-free use gluten-free stock); 2 Tbsps butter; 2 Tbsps extra virgin olive oil or canola oil

You can never have too many hor d'oeuvre recipes, so give Seared Scallops with Asparagus Sauce a try. One portion of this dish contains roughly 11g of protein, 26g of fat, and a total of 303 calories. This recipe serves 2. It is a good option if you're following a gluten free diet. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes approximately 30 minutes. If you have butter, salt, canolan oil, and a few other ingredients on hand, you can make it.

Instructions

Salt the scallops: Salt the scallops well and set aside at room temperature while you make the asparagus sauce.

Ingredients you will need

Asparagus

Scallops

Sauce

Salt

Cook the asparagus for the sauce: Use a potato peeler to shave the outer layer off the asparagus spears, up to about three-quarters of the way up the spear. This part is more fibrous and will not break down as well in the blender. Chop the asparagus spears into 2-inch pieces.

Ingredients you will need

Asparagus

Potato

Sauce

Equipment you will use

Peeler

Blender

Boil the asparagus in a pot of salted water for 5-8 minutes. This is longer than you’d normally cook asparagus, but you want the spears to blend well later.

Ingredients you will need

Asparagus

Water

Equipment you will use

Pot

Remove the asparagus from the pot. If you want to retain that vibrant green color, shock them in an ice bath.

Ingredients you will need

Asparagus

Ice

Equipment you will use

Pot

Make the asparagus sauce:

Ingredients you will need

Asparagus

Sauce

Put the cooked asparagus in a food processor or blender.

Ingredients you will need

Asparagus

Equipment you will use

Food Processor

Blender

Add half the chicken stock and purée until smooth. (If you want an even smoother texture you can push the purée through a fine mesh sieve or a food mill.)

Ingredients you will need

Chicken Stock

Equipment you will use

Sieve

Pour the sauce into a small pot and add the butter.

Ingredients you will need

Butter

Sauce

Equipment you will use

Pot

Heat over very low heat until the butter melts, but do not let it boil, or even simmer. The sauce should be warm, not hot. If the sauce is too thick you can add more chicken stock.

Ingredients you will need

Chicken Stock

Butter

Sauce

Add salt to taste.

Ingredients you will need

Salt

Sear the scallops on one side: Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel.

Ingredients you will need

Scallops

Equipment you will use

Paper Towels

Heat a sauté pan on high heat.

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Add your cooking oil, and let it heat up for 2 minutes. The pan should be very hot. If it starts to smoke, move the pan off the heat.

Ingredients you will need

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Lay in the scallops in the pan, well separated from each other. You might need to sear in batches.

Ingredients you will need

Scallops

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

If your scallops are thicker than 1 inch, turn the heat down to medium-high. Most sea scallops are about an inch.

Ingredients you will need

Scallops

Let them sear without moving for at least 3-4 minutes.

Keep an eye on them. You will see a crust beginning to form on the outside edge of the scallop, and the meat will begin to whiten upward. A good time to check the scallop is when you see a golden brown ring at the edge of the scallop.

Ingredients you will need

Scallops

Crust

Meat

Try picking it up with tongs, and if it comes cleanly, check it – you should see a deep golden sear. If not, let it back down and keep searing.

Equipment you will use

Tongs

Sear the scallops on the other side: When the scallops are well seared on one side, turn them over and sear on high heat for 1 minute (give or take). Then turn off the heat.

Ingredients you will need

Scallops

The residual heat will continue to cook the scallops for a few minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Scallops

Let the scallops cook for at least another minute, or more if you like your scallops well-done.

Ingredients you will need

Scallops

Serve: To serve pour a little sauce in the middle of the plate, top with the scallops, the more browned side up.

Ingredients you will need

Scallops

Sauce

Serve at once.

Garnish with a little chopped parsley if you want, and maybe with a wedge of lemon.

Ingredients you will need

Parsley

Lemon

Equipment

Ingredients

Servings:

sea scallops 1serving

Salt 454grams

asparagus 118milliliters

warm chicken broth (if cooking gluten-free use gluten-free stock)2Tbsps

butter 2Tbsps

extra virgin olive oil or canola oil

Recommended wine: Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir

Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Pinot Noir are my top picks for Scallops. Chardonnay and chenin blanc are great matches for grilled or seared scallops. If your scallops are being matched with bacon or other cured meats, try a lightly chilled pinot noir. You could try Xavier Monnot Bourgogne Les Grandes Coutures Chardonnay. Reviewers quite like it with a 4.2 out of 5 star rating and a price of about 30 dollars per bottle.