Seared Scallops With Melted Leeks And Pistachio Vinaigrette Recipes

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.

PAN-SEARED SCALLOPS WITH MELTED LEEKS

Steps:

• Stir together olives, chile, lemon zest and juice, 1 tablespoon oil, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a small bowl.
• Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium. Add leeks, garlic, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 12 to 16 minutes. Divide mixture among plates. Wipe skillet clean.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in skillet over high. Season scallops with remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add scallops to skillet and cook, flipping once, until golden brown and mostly opaque, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Serve scallops over leeks with olive mixture and parsley.

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 SCALLOPS WITH JALAPENO VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Place jalapeno, rice vinegar, olive oil, and Dijon mustard in a blender. Puree on high until mixture is completely liquefied, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
• Season scallops with sea salt and cayenne pepper. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat. Place scallops in skillet and cook until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Garnish scallops with orange segments and drizzle jalapeno vinaigrette over the top.

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.

SCALLOPS WITH LEEKS

Steps:

• Remove the scallops from their shells, or ask your fishmonger to do this. Separate the white flesh from the corals, and detach the hard skin around the white and the tiny black sack from the coral. Wash clean under a running tap. Halve the whites horizontally. Leave to dry off on some paper towels.
• Wash the leeks and discard the green parts. Slice the white stems lengthwise into narrow strips about 2 inches long. Place in a saucepan with 1-ounce of the butter, a pinch of salt and 8 tablespoons of water. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Keep hot.
• In another pan melt the rest of the butter and then gently cook the shallots until they are soft. Add the wine, vermouth and scallops with their corals. Bring just to the boiling point, then turn the heat very low and simmer for exactly 2 minutes, or less if the scallops are small.
• Remove the leeks from their liquid using a slotted spoon and place in the heated dish. With the same spoon place the scallops on top. Add the leek juice to the scallop juice and boil until the liquid is reduced to 8 tablespoons. Pour in the cream, return to the boil and bubble for a moment or two. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over the scallops. Scatter with the chopped parsley.

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH PINEAPPLE, GINGER AND LEMON GRASS SALSA

Steps:

• Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the shallot and 1 pinch of salt; cook and stir until the shallot has softened, about 5 minutes. Stir shallot, pineapple, ginger, lemon grass, cilantro, honey, vinegar, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, extra virgin olive oil, and salt to taste, together in a bowl. Set aside.
• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan, and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Cover, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans, recover, and steam until just tender, 2 to 6 minutes depending on thickness. Immediately immerse in ice water for several minutes until cold to stop the cooking process. Once the green beans are cold, drain well, and set aside.
• Heat the safflower oil in a large skillet over high heat. Thoroughly dry each scallop. Once light wisps of smoke are visible in the safflower oil, carefully place the scallops in the skillet. Sear the scallops until golden brown without moving them, about 1 minute. Flip the scallop and cook until desired doneness, about 90 seconds. Turn of the heat and remove scallops from the skillet. Toss green beans into the still-hot skillet for 1 minute. Serve scallops over green beans and top with pineapple salsa.

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH LEEKS AND CAVIAR SAUCE

Steps:

• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add leeks and sauté until tender but not brown, about 20 minutes. Add Champagne and boil until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 4 minutes. Transfer leek mixture to strainer set over bowl. Press on leeks to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer leeks to small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return liquid to same skillet. Add cream and boil until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 4 minutes. Transfer sauce to bowl; cool 1 hour.
• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add scallops to skillet and sauté until just cooked through and golden brown, about 3 minutes per side for each batch. Transfer to plate.
• Spoon leeks in 5 small mounds around rim of each plate, spacing equally. Top each mound with 1 scallop. Stir caviar and tarragon into sauce. Spoon sauce into center of each plate.

SCALLOPS WITH "MELTED" LEEKS AND TARRAGON-CAPER BUTTER

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy small skillet over medium heat. Add capers; sauté until crisp, about 1 minute. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Boil wine and next 4 ingredients in small saucepan over medium heat until liquid is reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 15 minutes. Add cream; boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. (Capers and sauce can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and 3/4 cup water. Simmer until leeks are tender and almost all water evaporates, about 4 minutes. Mix in chives. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer leek mixture to platter. Tent with foil.
• Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil in another heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add scallops; sauté until cooked, about 2 minutes per side. Arrange atop leeks. Tent with foil.
• Reheat sauce over medium heat. Gradually add 6 tablespoons butter; whisk until smooth, about 1 minute (do not boil). Strain sauce into small bowl. Stir in capers and tarragon. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon over scallops.

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH CABBAGE AND LEEKS

Steps:

• Heat 4 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick frypan over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.
• Add leek, cook until soft, 1 to 2 minutes; Stir in cabbage, and add stock.
• Cook stirring occasionally, until cabbage is slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and season with fresh ground pepper; set aside.
• Sprinkle scallops with 1/4 teaspoon salt and season with freshly ground pepper. Heat remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons oil in another large nonstick frypan, over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Add scallops, cook, turning once , until dark golden, about 4 minutes per side.
• Divide cabbage mixture between four plates and top each serving with 3 scallops, garnish with lemon slices.

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH CABBAGE AND LEEKS

Steps:

• Heat 4 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add leek; cook until soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cabbage, and add stock. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, and season with pepper. Set aside.
• Sprinkle scallops with 1/4 teaspoon salt, and season with pepper. Heat remaining 4 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add scallops; cook, turning once, until dark golden, about 4 minutes per side.
• Divide cabbage mixture among four plates, and top each serving with 3 scallops. Garnish with lemon.

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH LEEKS & LEMON CHILLI BUTTER

Steps:

• For the butter, mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, then beat well with a wooden spoon until there are no lumps of butter left. Spoon onto a large sheet of cling film, then wrap tightly in a sausage shape. Chill until firm (or put in the freezer if you're short of time).
• Set up a pan with a steamer or suspend a heatproof colander over the top of a pan. Cut the leeks in half lengthways, then slice into long strips, about the thickness of tagliatelle. Cover, then steam for 6 mins until tender, with no signs of squeakiness. Season, then set aside.
• Dry the scallops on kitchen paper and season. Heat a heavy-based pan, then add the oil. Once hot, add the scallops, keeping them close together - this helps the sides to stay straight and tall rather than sagging. Sizzle for 2 mins until caramelised and you can see the heat creeping up the outside. Turn over with a palette knife, then fry for 1 min more. Take off the heat, then add a few good slices of the butter to the pan, spooning over the scallops as it melts.
• To serve, wind a nest of warm leeks in the centre of 4 plates, top each with 3 scallops, spoon over the buttery sauce (it looks smart trickled around the plate), then sprinkle with the remaining parsley. Squeeze over a little lemon juice before you tuck in.