Sautéed Sea Scallops with Joy Butter Sauce

This is a very elegant entrée for serving at a dinner party or just a night at home. Scallops have a wonderful buttery flavor. The sauce contains butter and wine which complements the dish and wine nicely.

Ingredients

• Chives, finely cut, for garnish  ·  2 tablespoons 
• lemon juice  ·  1 teaspoon 
• chicken stock  ·  ½ cup 
• Williamson Joy Sauvignon Blanc  ·  ½ cup 
• shallots, finely minced  ·  2 tablespoons 
• cold butter, cut into small pieces  ·  6 tablespoons 
• olive oil  ·  1 tablespoon 
• flour for dredging  ·  2 tablespoons 
• black pepper  ·  ¼ teaspoon 
• Salt  ·  ¼ teaspoon 
• sea scallops  ·  18 
• Herbie's Fennel Pollen, ½ for recipe and ½ for garnish  ·  1 teaspoon 

Instructions

The ingredient amounts serve two to four people and you can adjust the ingredient to accommodate the number of people eating but keep in mind that sea scallops are quite large and three to four is a handsome serving for one person. 

The freshness makes a difference, and it's a difference you can taste so only buy truly fresh seafood that came off the boat that morning, or perhaps, the night before.  It may be a little more expensive but as an occasional indulgence to satisfy your seafood needs, it is worth the investment.  

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Rinse the scallops briefly in cold water and dry well with paper towels.

Sprinkle the fennel pollen, salt and pepper on the scallops. Dredge very lightly in flour and tap off the excess.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a 10 to 12 inch non-stick skillet and when the skillet is hot, add the scallops and cook on med-high to high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, or until that side of the scallops is lightly browned. 

Turn them over and cook the other side the same way.  Be sure you adjust the heat so they brown quickly but the pan doesn't burn. The scallops at this point will be under cooked.  Remove the skillet from the heat and place it in the preheated oven for 3 to 5 minutes to finish cooking the scallops while you make the sauce.

Heat 1 Tbsp of butter in an 8 inch skillet on high heat and sauté the shallots for 1 minute. Add the sauvignon blanc and quickly reduce by half.  

Add the chicken stock and quickly reduce by half. 

Reduce the heat to low and, stirring with a small whisk, add the cold butter a little at a time until the sauce is very lightly thickened.

Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.   

Keep the sauce warm on very low heat while you place 3 scallops on each plate and then spoon a small amount of sauce on each of the scallops.

Garnish with cut chives and a touch of fennel pollen and serve.

Note:  Do not overcook the scallops. If the scallops are very large, or small, you may need to adjust the time in the oven accordingly. Scallops are a delicate thing to cook. When done to perfection, they're divine, but finding that perfection is a fine line to walk. If you overcook scallops, they become chewy and fishy. If you undertook scallops, that's a food safety issue. You want scallops to remain tender and moist, but they should be white and opaque all the way through. If you cut into a scallop and find a clear center, it isn't done.   Best to cheat and cut one of the scallops in half when you think they are done just to check.

About Sea Scallops:  Fresh sea scallops should smell like the sea, not like the tide and certainly not like low tide. They should smell clean and salty, be plump, glossy, with cream to light pink color and typically about 1½ inches wide. They should be mildly tacky to touch like raw, skinless chicken breast but not slimy or sticky like honey.  Do not use frozen scallops.