Sensational Scallops

Submitted by A la Carte

"I saw that scallops were on the list of ingredients to incorporate and was so happy, because I love them! This recipe is perfect for a romantic dinner or a special occasion, but it comes together very quickly and easily. Use large scallops - the larger the better. Mine were about the size of a good sized plum. Serve over rice and with a side of any veggie you like."

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 2

ingredients

• cooking spray (such as Pam olive oil)
• 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
• 1 1⁄2 lbs scallops, about 10 large
• 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
• 1 lime, juice and zest of
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 red pepper, roasted
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1⁄2 cup heavy cream
• 1⁄4 cup marsala wine
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced (garnish)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°F.
2. Grate the lime rind using a microplane or the fine side of a grater. Mix with the brown sugar, cayenne and paprika. Spread out on a plate and make sure to get out any lumps in the sugar.
3. Juice the lime and reserve.
4. Slice the roasted red pepper very thinly.
5. De-seed and finely chop the jalapeño.
6. Slice the green onion diagonally, thinly.
7. Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel.
8. Press each flat side of the scallops into the brown sugar mixture enough to have a thin layer of the mixture on each. Reserve the remaining sugar mixture!
9. Spray a large non-stick frying pan with cooking oil. Make sure the pan is large enough, so as not to crowd the large scallops. Add the butter and heat on high heat until the butter is foaming.
10. Add the coated scallops and reduce the heat to medium. (Adjust the heat if it gets to hot in the pan, you want the scallops to brown nicely, but not burn).
11. Watch the underside of the scallops and when they start to go white 1/2 way up the scallop, (about 3 minutes), carefully turn them over to brown the other side. Brown for about 3 minutes more (depending on how large your scallops are). Scallops should be slightly cool inside, and NOT overcooked.
12. When both sides are browned, remove to a plate and keep warm (I used a pre-heated 200f oven) while you quickly make the sauce.
13. Rinse out the pan to remove the sugar which will make your sauce bitter.
14. Put the rinsed pan on a high burner. Add the chicken broth, lime juice, and marsala wine, add the jalapeño and roasted red pepper. Add the remaining sugar mixture and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, and reduce by 1/2 for about 2 minutes.
15. Once reduced, turn the heat down to medium, add the heavy cream and stir thoroughly. Turn up the heat and heat through until just before bubbling, and pour over the scallops.
16. Serve with the green onion sprinkled over as a garnish.

Reviews

[EdandTheresa]

This has both a sweet and hot taste. The sweet taste was too much, next time I would cut down on the brown sugar and heavy cream cream to make sauce thicker. Served over rice, overall I couldn't taste the great flavor of sea scallops, maybe bay scallops would be better to use since they don't have the flavor of sea scallops.

 

[GirlEatsWorld]

I was torn in half with this recipe...half of it I LOVED, and the other half not so much. The part I loved was the scallops seared with the brown sugar mixture. I think the recipe could stand on it's own just like that, without any sauce, maybe with a wedge of lime. It was flavorful and the sweetness compliments the scallops excellently! The sauce on the other hand I was not crazy about. The flavor was ok, but I didn't get the thickness I would have liked to have, maybe an error on my part, I followed the recipe as written but it was a little thin and didn't stick to my scallops, just ran off the plate. All in all, an excellent effort for the contest!