I fell in love with scallops while guiding bike tours for Butterfield & Robinson, first in Provence and then in Nova Scotia. The East Coast Digby scallops are the most flavourful, but tiny and a little trickier to plate.
Ingredients
18 medium sea scallops (10/20 size)
Salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
2 to 4 tbsp (25 to 50 ml) canola or grapeseed oil
Olive oil, to taste
Frisée lettuce or any other bitter green, for garnish
Sauce
1 tbsp (15 ml) butter
2 shallots, sliced
2 leeks (white and light green part only), sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup (125 ml) white wine
1/2 cup (125 ml) 35% cream
2 tbsp (25 ml) finely chopped fresh tarragon
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Pat scallops dry with paper towel. Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper on both sides. Heat a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Add enough oil to just coat the bottom of the pan. Sear scallops for 1 to 2 minutes per side or until crisp and golden and just cooked through (you may need to do this in batches). Transfer scallops to a plate.
2. To make the sauce, in the same skillet over medium heat, melt butter with a dash of olive oil. Cook shallots and leeks until fragrant (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for another 3 minutes. Add white wine and cook, stirring, until reduced by half. Add cream and reduce by about half (until it lightly coats the back of a spoon). Stir in tarragon and season with salt and pepper.
3. Lightly toss frisée with a pinch of salt and a little olive oil. Place greens in centre of plates and top with 3 cooked scallops each. Drizzle with sauce and serve immediately.
Serves 6
Chef’s Tips:
- When buying scallops, make sure they are dry (ideally flat, in one layer, not sitting in liquid) and odourless. Ask the fishmonger when they came in (and use within 24 hours of that time). Sometimes they have a small white muscle attached to their sides. Simply pull this off and discard.
- This is also wonderful served on top of angel hair pasta tossed with a little sauce and reserved pasta water.
Recipe excerpted from James Beard winner Dish Entertains by Trish Magwood. Published by HarperCollins Canada. Copyright 2007 by Trish Magwood. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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