Pan-Seared Scallops with Lemon Sauce

I had the idea to put these recipes together because of a dining experience I had at Recipe: A Neighborhood Kitchen. My lovely boyfriend and I went to Newberg, Oregon (wine country) to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. During our stay we went to the restaurant I mentioned above, to say that it was impeccable would be an understatement. The food, service, and quality were so so amazing...which unfortunately is not something I experience often and I live in Portland, Oregon which is a foodie town! Anyway I ordered pan-seared scallops with potato risotto and an apple citrus slaw. Since the meal was so amazing I decided to try and replicate it for Father's Day.  Here is a link to the original recipe from Bon Appetit  Below is the scallop recipe, the citrus fennel slaw and the potato risotto will be my next two posts.

 

Serves 3

Ingredients

1 lemon

1 ½ cups dry white wine

¼ cup shallots, sliced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 1/2 pounds large scallops

2 tablespoons butter, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

 

The Process

 

1.   Using a vegetable peeler, remove peel (yellow part only) from lemon in longs strips.  Squeeze 1 ½ tablespoons juice from lemon.

 

2.  Combine wine, shallots, garlic, and lemon peel in heavy small saucepan.  Boil until mixture is reduced to ½ cup, about 15 minutes.  Add cream and turmeric and boil until mixture thickens and is reduced to 1 ¼ cups, about 13 minutes.

 

3.  Pour mixture through fine strainer, discard solids in strainer.  Return sauce to pan.  Whisk in 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

4. Preheat oven to 400F.  Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper.

 

5.  Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over high heat.  Working in batches if necessary, add scallops to skillet and sear until browned and almost opaque in center, adding more butter and oil for next batch if needed.

 

6.  Transfer scallops to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake scallops until just opaque in center and heated through, about 3 minutes.  Serve with sauce over the top of the scallops.