Best Seared Scallops With Melted Leeks And Pistachio Vinaigrette Recipes

SEARED SCALLOPS

Steps:

• Remove the small side muscle from the scallops, rinse with cold water and thoroughly pat dry.
• Add the butter and oil to a 12 to 14-inch saute pan on high heat. Salt and pepper the scallops. Once the fat begins to smoke, gently add the scallops, making sure they are not touching each other. Sear the scallops for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. The scallops should have a 1/4-inch golden crust on each side while still being translucent in the center. Serve immediately.

SEARED SEA SCALLOPS WITH PISTACHIO DRESSING

Steps:

• In a mortar, crush the anise seeds with 1/4 teaspoon salt and the garlic. Place pistachios and tarragon in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add anise mixture, oil, sherry and lemon juice. Process to a thick paste. Transfer to a small saucepan. Whisk in stock or water. Heat on low until tepid. Turn off heat.
• Heat a cast iron skillet or a griddle to very hot. Dry scallops. Brush a slick of oil on the pan, lower heat a bit and place scallops in the pan. Sear on medium-high until handsomely browned, 2 to 3 minutes. You'll know when the scallops have browned enough when they can be lifted with your spatula without ruinous sticking. Lightly dust scallops with salt, then turn them. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking until scallops are browned on the bottom and just cooked through, another 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, gently warm the sauce. Whisk and add a smidgen of salt if needed.
• Spoon some of the sauce in the center of each of 4 warm dinner plates. Poise 3 to 4 of the scallops around the edges of the sauce pool and garnish with tarragon.

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH MELTED LEEKS AND PISTACHIO VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Heap in the leeks. They should be crowded. The leeks will cook down as they melt; this will take about 6 - 8 minutes. You want to catch them when they just begin to get mushy, but when they still have a nice texture.
• While leeks are cooking, prepare the scallops and make the vinaigrette. Remove muscle from the scallops if present, and season with salt and pepper. For the vinaigrette, chop the pistachios coarsely (I like to leave a few whole). Reserve just a bit of the chopped pistachios for garnish and add the rest to a bowl. Add the honey, mustard, the juice of 1/2 of the lemon (reserve the other half for later), salt and pepper, and whisk together. Drizzle in 1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• When leeks are done, remove them from the pan and set aside. Wipe out the pan and heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Sear the scallops until they are cooked through and just barely firm, about 3 - 4 minutes per side. They should have a little color. Just before they are done, squeeze the reserved lemon half over them and swirl the pan around to cover the scallops with the lemon and pan juices.
• For presentation, I spoon the leeks into small mounds (3 per plate) and put scallops on top, then add the greens in the middle of each plate. Drizzle the vinaigrette over each dish and sprinkle the reserved pistachios over to garnish.