Bay Scallops Provençal

Bay Scallops Provençal
Sabra Krock for The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(310)
Notes
Read community notes

Sometimes the best pairings are accidental. One weekend when I had some work to do, I asked my husband to go to the local fish market and pick up one of their marvelous chowders that could be reheated for lunch. He came home instead with a pound of local bay scallops, the first of the season (and abundant this year). Now I had to cook. Fortunately, I had other suitable ingredients on hand and in less than 30 minutes, lunch was on the table. Not one to let a tasting opportunity go to waste, I figured the dish I almost literally threw together would be compatible with a bottle of simple white Burgundy. It had just enough richness in the glass.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 to 3 main-course servings
  • 1pound fresh bay scallops
  • 3tablespoons flour
  • Salt and pepper
  • pepper
  • 2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1large shallot, minced
  • 2cloves garlic, minced
  • 2plum tomatoes, finely chopped
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • cup dry white wine
  • tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
  • Toasted baguette slices, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (3 servings)

331 calories; 16 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 671 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Season the flour with some salt and pepper and toss the scallops in it. Heat the oil in a 10- to 12-inch skillet. Add the shallot and garlic and sauté over medium heat a few minutes, until soft. Remove, draining well to keep most of the oil in the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high. Shake excess flour from the scallops and sauté them, tossing, until lightly browned.

  2. Step 2

    Return the shallot and garlic to the skillet. Add the tomatoes and sauté until they soften, a minute or so. Add the lemon juice and wine and stir just until the ingredients are well combined. With a slotted spoon, transfer the scallops to a warm serving dish. (It’s fine if some vegetables hitch a ride with the scallops.)

  3. Step 3

    Increase the heat to high and reduce the liquid until it thickens to the consistency of heavy cream. Lower heat, swirl in the butter and check the seasoning. Fold in the parsley. Pour the sauce over the scallops and arrange the toast around the platter.

Ratings

5 out of 5
310 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Florence says the flour is to help the scallops brown without overcooking. It also adds substance to the sauce. A lighter coating for the scallops would be corn or potato starch. If you make the dish without the flour be sure you dry the scallops very well. You might use some butter instead of just oil in the pan to encourage browning.

love this. but it can be done without flour too. /scallops flavor is lost somewhat when fried like that.

thought it was great, we are land locked so I got the frozen scallops at Trader Joe's. Doubled the sauce and served it over pasta, wonderful

I LOVE bay scallops, having lived on Nantucket for 25 years. My main recommendation is to not cook them too long, as they will quickly turn "rubbery". The other thing that I would suggest is to use a small paring knife and trim off the muscle on each scallop. This will definitely add time to this recipe but is worth every minute.

Just delicious and very simple. Followed as written but used chopped grape tomatoes vs plum and worked fine. Served over thin spaghetti with fresh basil atop. Scallops did not brown much, might add some butter before putting them in the pan, but otherwise super simple and just yummy. 30 minutes start to finish. When bay scallops are in season they must be enjoyed. Pricy this year $40/lb but worth it. Would rather cook it at home then pay for it at a restaurant- simple and tasty!! Bon appetit!!

I second whoever said half a large lemon was way too much. No flour. It's a very adaptable recipe. I've made it before with with both fresh and frozen bay scallops, and loved it. Used grape tomatoes because that's what I had. And frozen scallop pieces--all I had on hand. Just kept an eye on the odd sized scallops in the pan. Served w soaked rice noodles. Swirled w teensy soy sauce. No Flour.Gluten free Also, used thai rice noodle "fettucine." Soaked it in a bowl of boiling water. drained, sti

Just so-so. Thought the flavors were a bit on the timid side and the sauce was definitely not enough so I added some anchovies, red pepper flakes and more wine/lemon juice. I’d also skip the flour, which did little more than thicken the sauce but made my beautiful scallops gummy.

Lots of questions after two trips through the recipe. Using an old school electric stove and restaurant quality cookware. What utensil do you use to get properly minced aromatics out of a fry pan while leaving most of the oil in the pan? Do the scallops stay in the pan when you return the the aromatics and add the tomato, lemon juice and wine? If they do, they get over cooked and tough. Question 3. How do you keep the aromatics Question 3. How do you k

Used frozen bay scallops, but the flour coating didn't work for me - even though I took care to shake off excess, the final sauce was a little gluey - will try cornstarch next time. We had it with multigrain baguette toasts which was nice, but I could see that an angel hair pasta would work well too. The final dish just seemed to be missing a little something, though I couldn't quite put my finger on it. My partner thought it was delicious, so this will stay in the recipe box!

Skip the flour

Snowstorm so no fresh fish today and used frozen bay scallops at hand - worked out very well. Would be helpful for this and other recipes if more exact measurements used rather than a "large" whatever. I used less than half a "large" lemon that it proved a bit overwhelming. I will annotate next time,

Mis en place is important with this recipe. Had half a pound of bay scallops but made the full amount of sauce. So delicious, simple, and super fast. My new favorite way to prepare scallops.

Did not have fresh tomatoes but had an open can of diced tomatoes. That worked pretty well, although getting the scallops out of the tomatoes was somewhat futile. No matter, I melted the butter into the pan with the remainder of the vegetables and tossed the scallops back in with the parsley. Served this with kale chips and stewed lentils with Moroccan spices. Wine - an Aligote.

This was an easy to make hit for a dinner with friends. It comes together so quickly and easily, I didn't have to spend all evening in the kitchen preparing the meal. Paired with a simple salad... perfection. I doubled the recipe to serve 5-6 ppl.

Just delicious and very simple. Followed as written but used chopped grape tomatoes vs plum and worked fine. Served over thin spaghetti with fresh basil atop. Scallops did not brown much, might add some butter before putting them in the pan, but otherwise super simple and just yummy. 30 minutes start to finish. When bay scallops are in season they must be enjoyed. Pricy this year $40/lb but worth it. Would rather cook it at home then pay for it at a restaurant- simple and tasty!! Bon appetit!!

Beyond good. The cost of Nantucket bay scallops is astronomical but they were the best scallops I've ever had. I bought 3/4s of a pound of these tiny gems and dusted them lightly with flour as directed, cut up about 2 dozen cherry tomatoes, instead of using plum tomatoes, and used plenty of fresh garlic. Made 1/2 pound of spaghetti, which I put into the pot after thickening the sauce, added about a cup of pasta water, and then topped with the cooked scallops. Gorgeous dinner for 2.

I use ½ pound of scallops and full amount of other ingredients for two people. Serve on angel hair pasta. Put sauce on angel hair first then top with scallops for presentation

Made with one regular tomato & Sauvignon Blanc wine. It was wonderful! Next time I’d use half the scallops, or double the sauce. Served with brown Basmati rice & steamed green beans. Heaven!!

Served with rice pilaf and steamed asparagus. You do need more oil. At least twice as much. It is not a strong tasting dish; rather subtle, but tasty. The sauce does thicken nicely.

I was hesitant about the tomatoes since I am not a fan, but this was amazing and relatively easy to make. I confess that I just used regular tomatoes since I did not have plum and it still turned out great.

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