Chef John Scallop Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S BAY SCALLOP CHOWDER

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir until fat renders and bacon is slightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add onion to bacon; cook and stir until soft and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir celery and garlic into onion mixture, cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
• Pour clam juice, chicken broth, potato, cayenne pepper, and black pepper into bacon mixture; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low, and cook until potatoes are almost tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir cream and chile pepper into potato mixture; bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are completely tender and chowder flavors combine, about 5 minutes. Season with lemon zest and salt.
• Stir scallops into chowder and cook over medium heat until scallops are tender and white, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in tarragon.

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH CORN CREAM

Steps:

• Stir corn kernels, chicken broth, 2 tablespoons butter, cayenne pepper, and salt together in a saucepan; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until corn is tender, about 5 minutes.
• Pour corn mixture into a blender no more than half full. Cover and hold lid down; pulse a few times before leaving on to blend. Puree in batches until smooth. Pour pureed corn mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a saucepan. Season with salt to taste.
• Toss scallops, Fresno pepper, canola oil, kosher salt, and smoked paprika in a bowl until scallops are completely coated. Separate pepper slices from scallops.
• Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat until very hot, about 5 minutes. Cook scallops in hot skillet until browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side until cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Cook and stir sliced peppers on the side of the skillet while the scallops are cooking.
• Remove skillet from heat; transfer scallops to a plate, leaving peppers in hot skillet. Stir water and 1 tablespoon butter into peppers until butter melts. Drizzle lemon juice over peppers; stir to glaze peppers completely.
• Divide corn cream between four bowls. Place 3 scallops over corn puree and top with glazed peppers. Garnish with radish sprouts.

MOM'S SCALLOPED POTATO GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole dish with 2 tablespoons butter and set aside.
• Peel potatoes and cut at a 45-degree angle into 1/4-inch thick round slices.
• Arrange 1/3 of the potato slices in an even layer in the bottom of the prepared dish. Season the layer very generously with salt, and sparingly with the freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne, if using. Top evenly with 1/3 of the Cheddar cheese. Repeat this process two more times for a total of three layers of potatoes, except for the last third of the cheese. Slowly and carefully pour in the milk, without upsetting the layers. The milk should almost, but not quite, cover the potatoes.
• Top with remaining Cheddar cheese and place the casserole dish on a sheet pan to catch any drips.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until potatoes are tender and the top is well browned and bubbling, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

SCALLOP GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Brush 2 small gratin dishes with 1 tablespoon melted butter.
• Whisk creme fraiche, white wine, lemon zest, cayenne pepper, and kosher salt together in a bowl until sauce is smooth. Place scallops in sauce and toss to coat; let sit until flavors begin to blend, about 5 minutes. Divide scallops between prepared gratin dishes and pour remaining creme fraiche sauce over the top. Top with tarragon and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle remaining butter over the top.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 4 minutes. Increase oven setting to broil and continue cooking until scallops are golden brown, slightly springy, and opaque, 2 to 4 minutes more.