Poached Scallops With Tarragon Vinaigrette Recipes

TARRAGON LOVER'S SCALLOPS

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Place half of the scallops in the skillet without crowding; cook until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove scallops to a plate. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon butter in the skillet, and cook remaining scallops. Remove to plate.
• Wipe out skillet, and return skillet to medium heat. Pour in wine, and boil 1 or 2 minutes, until reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Reduce heat to low, and whisk in the remaining 4 tablespoons butter; just softening butter to form a smooth sauce. Stir in salt, lemon zest, and tarragon. Pour sauce over scallops.

SEARED SCALLOPS OVER MICRO GREENS WITH ORANGE TARRAGON VINAIGRETTE WITH BUTTER POACHED LOBSTER

Steps:

• For the vinaigrette: In a small pot, add the orange juice and tarragon sprig. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and reduce the juice by half. When reduced, remove the tarragon sprig, and chill the juice in the refrigerator. When cooled, add the white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Whisk together. Slowly drizzle the grapeseed oil while whisking until you get an equal balance of oil to juice. Taste, then adjust the seasoning if necessary. Put aside.
• For the gastrique: In a small pot, add the sugar, apple cider vinegar and some salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the mango, and simmer for 15 minutes. Use an immersion blender, blender or even a hand mixer to blend well. Then strain through a fine mesh sieve. (If you don't have a fine sieve, you can use a regular strainer lined with cheese cloth or a clean dish towel.) You want to remove any little bits of mango that the blender missed. Put in the refrigerator to cool.
• For the lobster: Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the white vinegar. Drop in the lobster tails and simmer them until they just begin to turn bright orange/red. Let cool and remove the lobster meat from the shell. Chop the meat into pieces, just smaller than bite size.
• Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the garlic and shallots. Saute until translucent. Add the remaining butter and melt. Add a good pinch of salt. Add the lobster and stir to coat with the butter. Simmer for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and keep warm.
• For the crostini: Preheat the oven broiler. Cut a clove of garlic in half, and rub both sides of the bread with the cut sides of the garlic. Brush one side of the bread with olive oil, and sprinkle very lightly with herbes de Provence and salt. (If you don't have HDP, you can use a mixture of dried thyme, basil, rosemary, marjoram, sage, savory and fennel seeds, or any one of those herbs you happen to have.) Lay the bread on a cookie sheet and reserve.
• To assemble: Start with the scallops. Pat your scallops dry with paper towels. They MUST be dry in order to get a nice sear and crust on the outside. (If you don't, you'll have a scallop just steeping in its own liquid, getting mushy, with no color, sear or flavor.)
• With a paring knife, score the top of the scallops with a crisscross. You want to just score the outer layer, 1/16-inch deep. Sprinkle the scallops with salt and pepper. In a scorching hot pan with grapeseed oil, put your scallops in scored-side down. Grapeseed oil has a very high smoke point, which allows you to cook at higher temperatures for longer before it starts to smoke and burn.
• The scallops will tell you when it's ok to lift them and take a peek at your sear. When you're able to pick the scallops up with no resistance at all, you can then take a peek to see if you're ready to flip it. You want a nice rich golden brown color on your scallop. Once you've achieved the proper color, flip your scallops and remove the pan from the heat.
• Put your crostini in the oven to toast.
• Add the vinaigrette to your greens a little at a time. You want to just cover the greens with the vinaigrette, we don't want to drown it. Think light.
• Now on each serving plate, place a silver-dollar-size portion of the dressed micro greens in the center of the plate. Take a teaspoon of the mango gastrique, and put it on the plate in front of the greens. Then with the back side of the spoon, run it through the middle of the sauce. Take 3 or 4 pieces of the lobster, blot them on a paper towel, then place them in the center of your gastrique schmear. Place your scallop on top of your micro greens. Place 2 crostinis off to the side of the scallop. Then cross 2 whole chives over each plate and you're done.

SCALLOPS WITH MASHED POTATOES WITH TARRAGON SAUCE

Steps:

• Place potatoes in large pot. Cover with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to boil over high heat. Boil until potatoes are tender when pierced with skewer, about 8 minutes. Drain. Return to pot. Using potato masher, mash potatoes. Mash in 1/4 cup butter. Stir in 2/3 cup milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 hour ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Before serving, stir over medium heat until heated through, adding more milk by tablespoonfuls if dry.)
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper. Add scallops; sauté until just opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to plate; tent with foil. Reserve juices in skillet.
• Place wine and shallots in small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to glaze, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream; simmer 1 minute. Gradually whisk in remaining 1/4 cup butter. Stir in reserved pan juices. Stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons tarragon. Season tarragon sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
• Stir remaining 1/4 cup tarragon into warm mashed potatoes. Divide potatoes among 4 shallow bowls. Place scallops atop mashed potatoes. Drizzle with tarragon sauce and serve.

SCALLOPS WITH MASHED POTATOES AND TARRAGON SAUCE

Steps:

• Place potatoes in large pot.
• Cover with cold water.
• Add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to boil over high heat.
• Boil until potatoes are tender when pierced with skewer, about 8 minutes.
• Drain. Return to pot.
• Using potato masher, mash potatoes.
• Mash in 1/4 cup butter.
• Stir in 2/3 cup milk.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• (Can be made 1 hour ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Before serving, stir over medium heat until heated through, adding more milk by tablespoonfuls if dry.)
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper.
• Add scallops; sauté until just opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side.
• Transfer to plate; tent with foil. Reserve juices in skillet.
• Place wine and shallots in small saucepan.
• Simmer over medium heat until reduced to glaze, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in cream; simmer 1 minute.
• Gradually whisk in remaining 1/4 cup butter.
• Stir in reserved pan juices.
• Stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons tarragon.
• Season tarragon sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
• Stir remaining 1/4 cup tarragon into warm mashed potatoes.
• Divide potatoes among 4 shallow bowls.
• Place scallops atop mashed potatoes.
• Drizzle with tarragon sauce and serve.

SEA SCALLOPS POACHED IN WHITE WINE

Steps:

• For 1 1/2 pounds whole scallops. Simmer 1/2 tablespoon minced shallots for 3 minutes with 1/3 cup each of dry white French vermouth and water plus 1/2 teaspoon salt and a small imported bay leaf. Then add the scallops and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, just until lightly springy to the touch. Remove from heat and let cool in the liquid at least 10 minutes, to pick up its flavor. Remove scallops, discard bay leaf, and rapidly boil down liquid until almost syrupy.
• serving suggestions: fines herbes
• Stir fresh minced parsley and/or dill, tarragon or chives into the reduced liquid, and briefly reheat scallops, folding in, if you wish, a few tablespoons of heavy cream.
• provençal-with tomatoes
• Stir 1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, juiced, and chopped fresh tomatoes (see box, page 30) and 1 large clove of minced garlic into the reduced liquid. Cover and simmer 5 minutes, then uncover and boil down rapidly to thicken. Season. Fold in the scallops and reheat briefly. Fold in minced parsley or other green herbs and serve.
• Note
• Simmering times for quartered sea scallops and bay scallops, 15 to 30 seconds; for calicos, bring just to the simmer.

CHEESY TARRAGON BAY SCALLOPS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Remove all wrapping from the pastry shells and set on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and puffed, about 20 minutes (follow directions on package).
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bay scallops, and saute quickly on both sides until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Do not overcook. Remove scallops from skillet and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium, and melt remaining tablespoon butter. Add mushrooms and shallots, and sautè until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Whisk half-and-half and flour into the skillet, whisking until thickened; add white wine, sherry, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard, and whisk into the cream sauce.
• Stir in Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon tarragon, and pepper. Return scallops to the cheese sauce, stir, and reheat briefly.
• Remove top of the puff pastry shell, and fill with cheesy scallops, overflowing slightly to serve. Garnish with additional fresh tarragon if you like.

POACHED SCALLOPS WITH TARRAGON VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• In a skillet, bring the wine, fish stock and shallot to a boil. Add the scallops in a single layer and simmer over moderate heat, turning once, until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer the scallops to a plate and keep warm.
• Bring 1/2 cup of the poaching liquid to a boil in a saucepan.
• Whisk in the dissolved arrowroot and cook over moderate heat until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat, whisk in the oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the green beans just until tender, about 6 minutes. Drain.
• Spread the beans on 4 plates. Thickly slice the scallops and set them on the beans. Drizzle with the vinaigrette, garnish with the tomato and tarragon and serve.