This recipe is the first time that we enjoyed scallops! Our mom has made the mistake in the past of buying scallops from the normal grocery store, which are extremely nasty- fishy and gross. To be honest, we never even tried them because they made the house smell disgusting. And to people like us who generally don’t like seafood (we’re trying to fix this), scallops were the ultimate offenders.

We recently got Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris cookbook out of the library. It  has lovely pictures of food and Paris as well as simple and classic recipes. We decided to give good scallops a try, and made her recipe. The key to good scallops is buying them from a store where you can trust that chemicals haven’t been added and that they are fresh. We have a local seafood shop that only stocks fresh seafood products, but I would imagine Whole Foods or a similar store to that would have good scallops too. This is definitely a splurge- sea scallops around here are over $20 a pound! Keep in mind, though, that it’s cheaper than going out to eat.

These were wonderful! The sauce is made with butter, white wine, shallots, parsley, and a little garlic. The scallops are cooked to be nicely browned on each side (but not overcooked inside- overcooked scallops are rubbery) and tender. With a squeeze of fresh lemon juice on top, some baguette, and a simple salad, this is an elegant meal that tastes like it is from a restaurant! While scallops will never be my first choice at a restaurant or at home, it’s nice to have a seafood dish that almost everyone in our family loves!

By the way, by the time all of you read this, we will be doing a service trip in Camden, NJ! It will definitely be a new experience, because even though we did one in Washington, D.C. last summer that was AWESOME, Camden is (obviously) a completely different city. I am hoping that our group can help the people there who need it!

Scallops Provençal

Serves about 3

Recipe from Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops (if you use sea scallops, cut them in half and make sure that they are roughly the same size); ideally, get dry packed scallops

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

All-purpose flour (you’ll need at least 1/2 cup)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided

1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 lemon, cut in half

Directions:

Sprinkle the scallops with salt and pepper, and then coat them in flour. Shake off  any excess flour.

In a large saute pan (don’t crowd the scallops, so if you’re not sure, use two pans), heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in one layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on one side. Do not move them until they are ready to flip. Flip the scallops and let them brown lightly on the other side, about 3-4 minutes total. Be careful not to overcook them, or they will get rubbery.

Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and cook for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste to see if you need to add any more salt or pepper. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice. Enjoy!