Recipe—Baked Sea Scallops with a Mushroom Cream Sauce

I am a lover of all things seafood. Whenever I see seared scallops on a cooking show my mouth starts to water. They always look perfectly seared, and of course the professional chefs make it look so easy. Being a fan of scallops, I wondered why I had yet to ever cook them myself. I think it is the fear of cooking such an elegant piece of meat and ruining it. Over the weekend I was feeling adventurous and thought I would finally give it a shot.

This recipe turned out to be so easy and it looked like something out of a fancy restaurant. The scallops just melt in your mouth. The rich sauce paired really nicely with the scallops. In fact the sauce was so good I think it would pair well with beef or chicken too. I served my scallops over couscous, but I’m sure it would go just as well with rice or pasta. This sophisticated dish is perfect for your next date night. Give it a try. You won’t be disappointed!

INGREDIENTS
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 large shallot, finely chopped
10 small white mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1/2 c white wine
1/2 c chicken broth
1 c heavy cream
Dash of nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
2 dashes hot sauce
14–20 large sea scallops, patted dry
1 c breadcrumbs (I use Texas Toast croutons coarsely crushed)
1/3 flat leaf parsley, chopped

STEPS

• Place an empty baking dish in oven and preheat oven to 400º.
• Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat and add the shallots and mushrooms, cook 5 minutes.
• Add 2 tablespoons butter and flour to softened shallots and mushrooms and cook 1 minute then whisk in wine, reduce 30 seconds.
• Add stock and bring to a bubble.
• Stir in cream and heat through.
• Season sauce with nutmeg, salt and pepper, and a couple dashes hot sauce, and reduce heat to low.
• Heat a skillet over high heat.
• Season the scallops with salt and pepper and dress with 1 tbsp olive oil.
• Sear the scallops to caramelize 1–1 1/2 minutes on each side.
• Mix breadcrumbs with chopped parsley.
• Transfer the seared scallops to the heated baking dish and cover them with sauce and your breadcrumb mixture.
• Finish scallops in oven about 7–8 minutes until brown and bubbly.