Scallops Provençal

These scallops turned out to be one of the best meals I’ve made in ages – no joke. They were incredibly simple to prepare, took less than 10 minutes to cook, and turned out like a truly gourmet meal. Seriously, does it get better than that? I splurged and bought relatively expensive ($14.99/lb) fresh, wild sea scallops and they did not disappoint. When cooked properly, scallops should just about melt in your mouth and these most certainly did. I sliced them in half horizontally, as Ina suggested, and they were just perfect. Perfect. So perfect that I’m still wondering why I haven’t made them again yet.

Scallops Provençal

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour for dredging
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 lemon, cut in half

Instructions:

If you're using bay scallops, keep them whole. If you're using sea scallops, cut each one in half horizontally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.

In a very large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter over high heat until sizzling and add a single layer of scallops. (Do not crowd the scallops in the pan.) Lower the heat to medium and allow scallops to brown lightly on one side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes total.

Melt remaining butter in the pan with scallops; add shallots, garlic, and parsley and sauté for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine and cook for 1 minutes longer. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon juice.

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