Sauteed Scallops With Cucumber And Kiwi Recipes

SAUTéED SCALLOPS

Steps:

• Place a large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat, and add to it 3 tablespoons of the butter. When it has melted and started to foam, place the scallops in the pan in a single layer, and season with a pinch or two of salt.
• Cook scallops without moving until the bottoms are golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes, then turn them over, add the wine and cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

SAUTEED SCALLOPS WITH A SPICY PIQUILLO PEPPER PUREE

Steps:

• Puree: Roughly chop the onions, garlic, peppers, piquillos, and cilantro; then add all puree ingredients into a food processor, except the olive oil and salt and pepper. Pulse several times until all ingredients have been finely diced. Once finely diced, slowly drizzle olive oil into food processor, while pulsing. Taste, add salt and pepper, as needed. Remove puree from processor and add to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to low.
• Scallops: Pat and dry scallops with paper towels; lightly season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Heat olive oil and butter in large skillet over very high heat. In batches, cook scallops until golden brown and opaque throughout, about 2 minutes per side.
• Plate scallops on a white rectangular plate, lightly drizzle plate and scallops with piquillo pepper puree. Garnish with fresh thyme and serve.

SAUTEED CUCUMBER WITH DILL

Steps:

• Peel, halve lengthwise and seed the cucumber. Cut into chunks the size of large croutons or slice into thin half-moons. It depends on whether you want al dente chunks or soft, silkier petals. Both have their merits, depending on what you're serving with. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Saute the cucumber until hot and softened to your liking, about 5 minutes, depending on size. Season with salt and pepper and toss in the mint. Serve warm or at room temperature.

SAUTéED SCALLOPS WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Put the oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet and turn the heat to medium-high; begin to dredge the scallops lightly in the flour. When the butter foam subsides, add the scallops swiftly but not all at once. Turn them individually, as they brown, allowing about 2 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper as they cook.
• Once you have turned all the scallops, add the garlic and lower the heat a bit. Stir or, even better, shake the pan gently so the garlic cooks a bit and is distributed among the scallops. Garnish and serve.
• A venerable tradition: In step 1, use only 1 tablespoon butter or oil; in it, sauté about 1/4 cup bacon or pancetta over medium heat until crisp, 5 to 10 minutes; halfway through the cooking time, add 1/4 cup minced shallots. Quarter the scallops; do not dredge them in flour. Stir them into the bacon/shallot mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, for a couple of minutes, until stark white. Season to taste (omit the garlic), garnish, and serve.
• You can finish either the main recipe or the variation this way: Transfer the cooked scallops to a warm platter and turn the heat to high. Add 1 cup dry white wine (a really good one will not be wasted here) and cook, stirring and scraping the pan with a wooden spoon, until the wine is reduced by more than half and is syrupy and thick. Pour this over the cooked scallops, garnish, and serve.

GINGER CUCUMBER SALAD WITH SCALLOPS

Steps:

• With Asian or English cucumbers (or small garden cucumbers), slice thinly, preferably with a mandoline. With thick cucumbers, peel, halve lengthwise, and scoop out seeds before slicing.
• Mix vinegar, ginger, sugar and salt, and toss with cucumbers. Let stand for 30 to 60 minutes. (Refrigerate if marinating for more than an hour in warm weather.)
• Just before serving, drain excess liquid. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat. Wait a minute, then add scallops or shrimp. Sear for about 2 minutes to a side, then remove to a plate. Turn heat to medium, add remaining oil, onions and turmeric, if you are using it. Cook until onion softens, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, toast sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until browned and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir onions into cucumbers, top with scallops or shrimp, garnish with sesame seeds, and serve.

SAUTéED SCALLOPS

Steps:

• Dredge the scallops in flour. Heat the butter and oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat, and when it is sizzling, shake the excess flour from the scallops and scatter them in the hot pan. Keep the heat high, and turn and move the scallops around frequently, giving the pan a shake now and then. Total cooking time should not be more than 3 minutes-or 4 for really large pieces. Season the scallops lightly with salt and several grindings of the pepper mill, and remove them to a warm plate. Lower the heat to moderate, and toss the shallot into the pan. Stir it around for about 30 seconds, splash in the wine, and let it reduce slightly. Pour this sauce over the scallops, scraping up every bit of pan juice with a spatula. Sprinkle the parsley on top.
• Variation
• Sometimes I wrap a band of prosciutto around the circumference of each scallop and secure it with a toothpick. These can be broiled, or sautéed as above. The sharp saltiness of the prosciutto, along with the briny taste of the scallops, creates a striking combination of flavors.

SAUTEED SEA SCALLOPS WITH CURRY

Steps:

• Cook carrots in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Add cucumbers and cook until all vegetables are crisp-tender, about 1 minute longer. Drain well. Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons butter with oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Working in batches, add scallops; sauté until golden and just cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to platter.
• Add cream, ginger and curry powder to same skillet. Add any accumulated juices from scallops on platter. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter; whisk until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return scallops to skillet. Add carrots and cucumbers; toss to combine. Cook just until scallops and vegetables are heated through, about 1 minute.

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH PAN SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut 2 tablespoons of the butter into pea-sized pieces, put it on a small plate, and stick it in the freezer. Heat a large skillet over medium-heat high for 3 or 4 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the olive oil and wait for the butter to melt.
• Pat the scallops dry with paper towels, add them to the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper; work in batches if necessary to avoid crowding the skillet. Cook, turning once, until they are well browned on both sides but not quite cooked through, 2 minutes per side (less if the scallops are under 1 inch across; more if they're over). Transfer the scallops to a plate.
• Stir in the garlic, lemon juice, and wine and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the skillet with a spatula. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the liquid in the skillet thickens, a minute or two, then whisk in the butter you chilled in the freezer, one bit at a time, to make a creamy sauce, adding another tablespoon or two of liquid if necessary.
• Return the scallops to the skillet and add the chives. Adjust the heat so the sauce bubbles gently and toss to coat the scallops with the sauce. To serve, transfer the scallops to a platter and spoon the sauce over all.
• Variation:
• Seared Scallops With Cherry Tomatoes and Basil: Skip the lemon juice. Cut 1 pint cherry tomatoes in half. Add the tomatoes with the garlic and wine and cook until they wrinkle a bit and release their juice, 2 or 3 minutes. Use chopped fresh basil leaves instead of chives.
• Cooks' Notes
• Releasing From The Pan: The scallops will offer no resistance when they're ready to turn. Press down gently while the scallops cook to encourage full contact with the pan, then listen for a hiss: That's moisture heating and evaporating.
• Getting A Good Sear: The idea is to brown the scallops well on both sides without overcooking them, so keep the heat as high as you can without creating too much smoke.
• Building Sauce With Butter: After you add the liquid and deglaze the pan, the addition of butter develops fantastic creaminess and richness.
• Finishing The Dish: As soon as the scallops are cooked through completely and coated with the sauce, remove the pan from the heat; they will continue to cook. Nick-and-peek into one if you need to check for doneness.

SAUTEED SCALLOPS WITH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add green onions, carrot and garlic and sauté until carrot is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer mixture to plate. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in same skillet over medium heat. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Add scallops to skillet and cook until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Return sautéed vegetable mixture to skillet. Add tomato, cilantro, lemon juice and vinegar. Simmer until scallops are just cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.

SAUTéED SCALLOPS WITH BROWN BUTTER AND PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• In a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Cook until the foam subsides and the butter solids turn a deep, nut brown, about 5 minutes. Remove the seeds from the preserved lemon and finely dice.
• Add the rosemary branches and chopped garlic to the butter and cook 30 seconds. Add the scallops, preserved lemon and a large pinch of salt. Lower the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring, until scallops are just opaque, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the scallops carry over off the heat for a few minutes.
• Season with additional salt, as needed, and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice over scallops and serve with chopped fresh herbs if you like.

SAUTéED SCALLOPS WITH ASPARAGUS PURéE

Steps:

• Asparagus: Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Salt the water generously (make it as salty as seawater). Trim the woody ends from asparagus and discard; then submerge asparagus in the boiling water. Cover with lid just until the water comes back to a boil, then uncover and cook until al dente (tender but with just a little crunch), 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice water.
• Asparagus are done when they bend without snapping. Use a spider strainer to transfer them to the ice bath; submerge and stir to immediately stop the cooking. Reserve cooking water (to thin purée). Cut asparagus tips and reserve for garnish. Cut stalks into 2-inch pieces and set aside.
• Place asparagus stalks in the blender and cover with lid; pulse a few times. Remove the smaller cap in the lid and turn blender to medium speed. Ladle in a slow stream of cooking water (about ½ cup) to help the asparagus purée. Use caution, as the water and purée are hot! Replace the cap, then purée on high speed. When the purée is smooth, strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl to remove any fibrous strands. Salt the purée to taste and set aside.
• Scallops: Place scallops on paper towels in an even layer and pat dry; this is an important step to get a nice sear. Pull off and discard any tough side-muscles (their fibers run against the grain of the rest of the scallop). Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, then add oil. (Add more as needed to coat the bottom of the skillet.) When the oil begins to ripple, add scallops in an even layer without crowding. Let cook undisturbed, 60-90 seconds. Scallops are ready to flip when they are evenly caramelized and no longer stick to the skillet. Before flipping, sprinkle with sea salt. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the asparagus purée.
• When scallops are golden brown on the first side, they should release easily from the skillet. Using a small offset spatula, flip each scallop to sear the second side; continue sautéing, 30-45 more seconds, depending on size. Remove scallops to a paper towel-lined plate and let rest while finishing the sauce.
• Add half of the asparagus tips to the warmed purée. Add butter, then swirl the saucepan continuously until all the butter has melted and emulsified into the purée to make a rich sauce.
• Immediately before serving, add the lemon juice to the asparagus sauce and stir to combine; taste and adjust seasoning. Divide the sauce among plates or large bowls, then place the scallops on the sauce. Garnish with remaining asparagus tips and serve immediately.

SAUTEED SCALLOPS

Steps:

• In a medium size saucepan melt butter over medium-high heat. Add crushed garlic and whole sprigs of rosemary to the saucepan. Add scallops, cook for 2 minutes on each side (or until desired consistency). Remove the garlic and rosemary from pan. Serve.