October 2: National Fried Scallops Day
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: Sea Scallops w/Asparagus Sauce
Categories: Seafood, Vegetables, Sauces, Appetisers
Yield: 2 Servings
6 Sea scallops *
Salt
1 lb Asparagus
1/2 c Warm chicken broth
3 tb Butter
2 tb Canola or grapeseed oil; or
- other high smoke-point oil
* Sea scallops are the big scallops, about 1 1/2" wide,
as opposed to bay scallops which are small, about 1/2"
inch wide. Look for "dry pack" scallops, as they are not
treated with chemicals to keep them fresh; the chemicals
are not overly harmful, but they change the texture of
the scallop and make them harder to sear properly.
Salt the scallops well and set aside at room temperature
while you make the asparagus sauce.
Steam the asparagus for the sauce. Use a potato peeler to
shave the outer layer off the asparagus spears, up to
about 3/4 of the way up the spear. This part is more
fibrous and will not break down as well in the blender.
Chop into 2" pieces. 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.
Remove the asparagus from the pot. If you want to retain
that vibrant green color, shock them in an ice bath. Put
them in a food processor or blender. Add half the chicken
stock and purée until smooth. (If you want an even
smoother texture you can push the puree through a fine
mesh sieve or a food mill.) Pour the sauce into a small
pot and add the butter. 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. Add salt to taste.
Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel. Heat a saute
pan on high heat. Add a high smoke point oil like canola
or grapeseed 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. Lay in the scallops in the pan, well
separated from each other. You might need to sear in
batches.
If your scallops are thicker than 1", turn the heat
down to medium-high. Most sea scallops are about an
inch. 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. 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.
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. The residual heat will continue
to cook the scallops for a few minutes. Let the scallops
cook for at least another minute, or more if you like
your scallops well-done.
To serve pour a little sauce in the middle of the plate,
top with the scallops, the more browned side up.
Serve at once. Garnish with a little chopped parsley if
you want, and maybe with a wedge of lemon.
NOTES: Plan on 3 sea scallops per person for a light
dinner or appetizer, 5 scallops for a full main course.
Many sea scallops come with a tough flap of meat attached
to them. Just pull it off and either discard or use in a
seafood stock. The asparagus sauce is a great way to use
the spears of asparagus in case you've chopped off the
tips for use in another recipe. You're just purreing
them here, so you'll never see the tips.
From:
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes
Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives
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