Half-Seared Scallops in Tomato Butter

Cooking through the Seafood Counter Episode 4

happy Friday!

I’ve got a fun one for you today. For this week’s installment of “Cooking My Way Through the Seafood Counter,” we’re working with scallops!

I find that a lot of home cooks are nervous about cooking scallops, but it really isn’t too hard. Just like most types of seared meat and fish, pat it super super dry, season right before cooking, place in a ripping hot pan with a high-heat oil, sear on both sides and keep the center medium to medium-rare.

Except, we’re doing this one a liiiiiiittle differently. In order to preserve the fantastic texture of raw scallops, while also not overcooking the scallop, we’re just going to sear one side of it.

(P.S. if you want a full guide to cooking scallops, I recommend watching the old episode of Good Eats with Alton Brown on Seared Scallops)

This perfectly cooked plate of scallops gets served on top of what I’m calling a tomato beurre monté. A beurre monté translates to “mounted butter” in French and it is the culinary term for a sauce that uses a little liquid like water and then emulsifies a bunch of cold butter until luscious. This version uses tomato water!

the scallops: you’ll want to get fresh sea scallops from your seafood counter. Avoid frozen scallops and definitely don’t get bay scallops. you’ll want to remove the small side muscle by just pulling it off with your hands. give the scallops a quick dip in cold water, then pat them as dry as you possibly can. If you have the time, you can even add some kosher salt to them about 30 minutes before cooking. this will pull out a lot of moisture, just make sure you dry them thoroughly again.

the tomato sauce: this part is pretty easy, but you have to follow the rules. get a big and juicy tomato. salt it heavily to draw out all the moisture you can while sitting in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. then you’ll warm that up in a pan and add COLD cubed butter slowly on low heat. this is not one of those things you can rush. its easy, but you gotta give it time to fully emulsify.

watch the video of this recipe

the full recipe:

Scallops with Tomato Beurre Monté

serves about 3, with 6 scallops per serving

ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh sea scallops (16-18 total)

• 2 large red tomatoes (heirloom preferred), large diced

• 1/2 tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt + 1/2 teaspoon, separated

• 2 tbsp neutral oil (grapeseed or canola)

• Cracked black pepper

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed and kept cold

• Parsley, chopped for garnish