Our local fishmonger and smoke house had some lovely scallops on ice when I stopped in one afternoon, and I thought ‘why not?’.
$25 later, I was headed home with a pound of sweet, succulent beauties, and was thinking of a way to serve them.
A 30 minute milk bath was a given, but then what? How’s about some ‘shrooms, garlic, butter, and a spritz of sweet sherry?
Yeh, that’ll do. That’ll do very nicely indeed.
INGREDIENTS
•1 lb scallops
•3/4 cup milk (or enough to cover)
•1/3 cup flour
•1/2 tsp seasoned salt
•4 tbsp butter
•4 tbsp olive oil
•4 cloves garlic, minced
•8 oz. fresh ‘shrooms, sliced
•2 shallots, diced
•1 tsp fresh lemon juice
•1/2 cup sherry (I like Amontillado)
•Fresh parsley, chopped
Rinse the scallops, then arrange in a large, wide bowl or rimmed plate (a pie or quiche pan works a treat), and add enough milk to cover the scallops.
Stash in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.
Whisk the flour together with the seasoned salt in a bowl and set aside.
Remove the scallops from the milk, shake to remove any excess liquid, and roll lightly in the seasoned flour to coat. Arrange on a plate and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large skillet, then stir in the garlic and olive oil and cook for two or three minutes.
Add the ‘shrooms and shallot and sauté for five or ten minutes, until the ‘shrooms are nicely browned on the edges and any cooking liquid has been cooked off.
Deglaze the pan with the sherry, scraping up any crispity bits on the pan bottom, then add the scallops and lemon juice and continue to cook for three minutes or so, just until the scallops are cooked through.
Sprinkle with the fresh parsley and serve.
We had ours over some brown and wild rice cooked in chicken stock, with freshly roasted asparagus on the side.
A very nice, if kinda pricey, dinner for two, with enough left over for lunch the next day, so that worked out well.