Seared Diver Scallops with Lemon Pan Sauce

Every so often, we splurge and have scallops at home. Fresh scallops aren't cheap by any means, so it's a rare occurrence. 


Quick tip for purchasing scallops - If you buy them from the meat counter, be sure that the scallops are "dry". If they don't specifically say dry, we'd recommend buying the flash frozen scallops in the freezer case. Basically, some grocery stores soak their fresh scallops in a solution to help them stay fresh longer, however also preventing them for being able to get a good sear. The "dry" scallops have not been soaked in this solution and are just like you'd get in a restaurant.


Here's what you need:
Seared Scallops:
Scallops
Kosher salt
Butter
Vegetable oil


That's it. Don't ruin a perfectly good scallop with a lot of flavors!


Pan Sauce:
Zest of 1  lemon
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup parsley
1 Tbsp dry white wine


Here's what you do:
Heat a pan to medium high heat. We want to get a nice sear, while not over cooking the scallop.


While you're pan is heating up, pat your scallops dry with a paper towel and salt them lightly on one side.

Coat the bottom of the pan with vegetable oil and add a tablespoon of butter.

Place your scallops, seasoned side down, into the pan. Season the top lightly. Let the scallops cook for 3 minutes on this side.

After 3 minutes, your scallops should have a nice brown color on the bottom and they will have turned mostly white. Flip them over and let cook for just one minute on this side.

Remove them from the pan and set aside. Maybe pop them in the microwave to keep them warm while you make your pan sauce.


Add a couple more tablespoons of butter to the hot pan and let that clarify. It won't take long - your pan should still be pretty hot. You may want to lift it off the heat with the addition of each ingredient to prevent spattering. 

Add the white wine and let that simmer until it doesn't smell strongly like wine.


Now, add your lemon zest and let that simmer for just about 30 seconds. The zest in somewhere in those bubbles, we swear!

Finally, add the parsley in and remove from the heat. Stir it a bit to combine all of the flavors.

Spoon the pan sauce over the scallops.

We paired this with Zack's Mushroom Risotto. That blog will be coming soon.

Enjoy!