Heat a nonstick sauté pan over a high heat, and add a tablespoon of clarified butter (or raw, unsalted butter) and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. The oil/butter mixture needs to be very hot before you add the scallops – you should actually see just the tiniest bit of smoke.
Place Scallops in Hot Pan and Don’t Move Them!
Place the scallops flat-side down in the hot pan. Don’t overcrowd the pan, or you’ll lower the pan temperature, causing the scallops to be steamed rather than seared.
Another important tip: Once you’ve placed the scallops in the pan, don’t touch them! If you give in to the temptation to move the scallops around the pan, all you’ll be doing is preventing them from forming the nice brown crust that you want.
Flip Scallops After About 2 Minutes
Because of variation in scallop thickness, pan temperatures and so on, it’s not easy to pinpoint an exact cooking time. But after a couple of minutes, it’s OK to peek underneath. If you see a nice, caramel-colored crust on the underside, they’re ready to flip.
Cook For Another Minute, But Don’t Overcook!
One of the easiest things in the world to do is to overcook scallops, so be very careful here. The scallops should be removed from the pan and served while their centers are still slightly translucent (you can check this by viewing them from the side), because they’ll continue to cook after you take them off the heat.
They should still be quite springy if you press them with your thumb. If they are very firm or stiff, they’re already overcooked.
Serve Scallops Right Away
Scallops start to turn rubbery if you wait too long to serve them, so get them on the plate right away. And be sure to serve them with the beautiful caramel-colored crust facing up
If you like, you can melt a bit more butter in the pan and drizzle it across the scallops right before service
Parsnip Puree
Ingredients
- 1 pound parsnips, peeled and sliced
- Salt
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 head garlic, cut in 1/2 horizontally
- 4 ounces unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lemon zest
Directions
Put parsnips in pot, season with salt and cover with water. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender – the tip of a paring knife should easily go through without resistance, approximately 15 minutes.
In a medium saucepan place the cream, thyme sprigs and garlic cloves over low heat and bring to a simmer.
Drain parsnips and reserve cooking liquid. Place parsnips in a food processor with butter, or extra-virgin olive oil and a couple of tablespoons of reserved cooking liquid. Begin to process and add strained heavy cream mixture. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, add the lemon zest and puree until very smooth.
NOTE Add puree to finished risotto instead of butter, add fresh corn
Lobster Broth
- The shells from two 1 1/2-pound lobsters (about 1 1/3 pounds)
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 medium leeks, white and pale green only, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 1/3 cups)
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 ribs celery, sliced thin
- 1 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 sprigs parsley
- 1 fennel stalks
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 small imported bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Large pinch saffron threads, crumbled (optional)
- One 14-ounce can plum tomatoes, drained
- About 7 cups water
1. Using kitchen shears, cut the shells into 2-inch pieces. In a large (14-inch), heavy saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil over high heat. Add the lobster shells and sauté, tossing frequently, until fragrant, 6 minutes. (If you don’t have a large enough pan, sauté them in two batches). Push the shells to one side of the pan and add the remaining tablespoon olive oil to the empty side. Reduce the heat to medium, add the leeks, carrots, celery, fennel to the oil and toss with the tongs; sauté until softened and golden, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic cloves and sauté 1 minute. Add tomato paste
2. Stir in the wine, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, fennel seed, pepper flakes and saffron threads. Squash the tomatoes in your hands and add to the pot. Add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer 1 hour, adding water as necessary to keep the shells covered with liquid.
3. Pour the broth through a fine strainer, pressing to extract all liquid from the solids.
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