Receta Fresh From the Sea and Saucy Like Me!
I was searching the web a couple of months ago and found what sounded like a wonderful recipe for pan seared scallops. I adore just about any vinaigrette made with sherry vinegar, adding cream sherry and apple juice sounded to good to be true. Off to the store I went and picked up some wonderful sea scallops. I had originally planned to serve this with fresh spinach, but silly me forgot to pick some up at the store. I think I was just too into the scallops and sherry. No worries I had a bag of mixed greens in the fridge, it would work (and to be honest, my husband is not a huge spinach fan, fresh or cooked)
When I got home, I unwrapped the scallops and placed them between paper towels on a plate and popped them in the fridge while I played with my new Kitchenaid Pasta Maker.
I love making pasta, it is like playing with play dough without the smell and the best part is you can eat it after you play with it! I used the fresh pasta recipe from my Kitchenaid manual but cut it in half since there were only two of us dining tonight. (see below). After resting for 20 minutes, I ran it through the pasta roller to a thickness of 4, then cut it with the Fettuccine Cutter. I hung then to dry on the rack my wonderful husband made out of dowel rods. While the pasta was drying, I started the vinaigrette.I heated my pan and tossed in the sliced bacon, after about 3 minutes, I added the shallots and continued to stir constantly until they had caramelized.
Up went the heat slightly and I added the cream sherry and reduced. I stirred in the apple juice and the sherry vinegar. I hate to waste food, and we don't drink much apple juice in our home, but I do cook with it.
One cost saver that I have found is to buy the smaller 100% juice boxes, they are just about 5 ounces. If you cannot find these, you could also freeze the unused juice.
I reduced the sauce to about half and removed it from the heat. Now it was time to move on to the scallops.
I heated clarified butter in my pan (Clarified butter works best because it has a higher smoke point and will not burn as easily). It is pretty easy to make it at home or it can be found in most kitchen stores. I know Rolling Pin in Brandon, FL sells a shelf stable clarified butter that does not have to be refrigerated.
While the butter was heating I sprinkled the scallops with salt and pepper. Once the butter was hot I placed the scallops into the pan and turned the heat up to high. I turned them when they started to cook up the sides and turn opaque and the bottoms were a nice golden brown. When the bottoms began to turn lighlty brown, I removed them from the pan. While I was cooking the scallops, I started a large pot of salted water for my pasta. When ready, I cooked the pasta for 4 minutes and then drained. I reheated the sauce to a low boil, turned the heat off and put in the cooked scallops, turning to coat. To plate this wonderful meal, I placed some salad greens down the center of the plate and placed the scallops on one side and the pasta on the other. I poured the sauce over and dinner was ready and very saucy, just the way I like it!
- 1 tablespoon shallot
- 2 strips smoked bacon
- 1/2 cup cream sherry
- 4 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 5 ounces apple juice or one small juice box
- 8 whole scallops
- 3 tablespoons clarified butter
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- Fresh Pasta
- Fresh spinach or any salad greens
To make the dressing, heat a fry pan to medium low heat and add the bacon.
Once half of the fat has been rendered, add the shallots and let caramelize slightly.
Turn the heat up to medium high and deglaze the pan with the sherry and let reduce slightly. Add the sherry vinegar and the apple juice and reduce by about half.
Once this has reduced, remove from the heat, and set aside. Keep in mind it will continue to thicken as it cools.
To cook the scallops, pat them dry with a paper towel to remove any excess liquid.
Check the scallops and remove the tough muscle along the side, if there is one.
Heat a fry pan to medium high heat and add the clarified butter. While the butter is heating, season the scallops with salt and white pepper. Once the butter is hot and just begins to smoke, place the scallops into the pan and turn the heat up to high.
The scallops are ready to flip when they start to cook up the sides and turn opaque. Once ready, the bottom should be a nice golden brown, turn the heat down to medium and flip them over. The scallops are cooked when you can see about 1/4 of an inch on the top and bottom has turned opaque. When done remove to plate.
The above adapted from a recipe I found on Rouxbe.com, a great online cooking school with video recipes, tips and techniques. I love this site!
Basic Egg Pasta
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon water
31⁄2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
Place eggs, water, flour, and salt in mixer bowl.
Attach bowl and flat beater. Turn to Speed 2 and
mix 30 seconds.
Exchange flat beater for dough hook. Turn to Speed
2 and knead 2 minutes. Remove dough from bowl
and hand knead for 1 to 2 minutes. Let it rest for
20 minutes.
This recipe is from Kitchenaid. For the above meal, I halved this recipe since there was only two of us dining. It worked great, but I did have to use a little more water.