Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce

 

Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce

(4 servings)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Kosher Salt plus more for seasoning

1 cup Hot Water

4 cups Ice Water

16 large Sea Scallops (see note)

3 tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tbsp. Unsalted Butter

1 tbsp. Fresh Garlic, minced

½ cup White Wine

1 cup Chicken Broth

1 tsp. Lemon Zest

2 tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice

2 tbsp. Capers, rinsed

1 tbsp. Dijon Mustard

as needed Black Pepper

1 tbsp. Fresh Dill, chopped

1 tbsp. Fresh Chives, chopped

1 large Lemon, cut into 8 wedges

2 cups Hot cooked Rice

Directions:

In a medium sized bowl, combine salt and hot water.  Stir to dissolve the salt.  Add the ice water to cool the brine.  Add scallops to the brine and let stand for 10 minutes.  Drain scallops and place on paper towels (see first note below).  Allow scallops to rest 10 minutes at room temperature before starting to cook.  In a 12-inch sauté pan or cast iron skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until oil ripples and just starts to smoke.  Sprinkle scallops with salt on both sides and place in the hot pan without crowding.  Gently press scallops with a spatula to make direct contact with the pan.  Sear scallops without moving them, continuing to cook until bottoms are a rich golden brown (about 3 minutes).  Add butter to pan and turn scallops over and cook on second side.  Use a spoon to baste the scallops with the butter, tilting the pan to collect the butter as needed.  When scallops are opaque in color and firm to the touch (about 1-2 minutes), turn off heat and transfer to a plate.  In the same pan over medium heat, add the garlic and cook 1 minute or until fragrant.  Increase heat to medium-high and add wine, stirring as needed until wine is reduced by half (about 3 minutes).  Turn heat up to high and add the chicken stock, lemon zest, lemon juice and capers to the pan.  Cook until sauce is reduced by half (about 8-10 minutes).  Turn off heat and whisk in the mustard.  Return heat to medium and add scallops back to pan, cook until warm (about 2 minutes).  Taste sauce and adjust seasoning, in needed, with salt and pepper.  Garnish scallops with chopped dill and chives.  Serve immediately over rice with the lemon wedges.

Notes:              This will be about a pound of Scallops.  You want them to be about 1¼ inches wide, give or take a little.  After soaking them in the brine you made, place them on a paper towel lined pan.  Top with more paper towels to remove as much surface moisture as possible.  This gives you the best results for browning them.

Ideas for Future Efforts

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