Who says cooking for one has to be boring? With a busy day behind me and a quiet night at home, I decided to treat myself to some lovely seared scallops. Ready in no time at all, seared scallops are one of my favorite ways to impress with ease. For this recipe I seared the scallops and served them on a bed of tender white wine-braised leeks and a flavorful mustard sauce. Not just any mustard sauce, but a whole grain mustard beurre blanc. Sounds fancy, but really all it is is a reduction of white wine, a tablespoon of butter, and a tablespoon of coarse ground mustard stirred right in. Simple–yes, and very French–oui, oui.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Seared Scallops with Whole Grain Mustard Beurre Blanc
Ingredients:
- 4 jumbo sea scallops, side muscle removed, patted dry
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 leeks, white parts only, thinly sliced (soak them for a bit to get rid of any sand, then drain and pat dry*)
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard
Directions:
- Season each scallop with a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat a nonstick skillet over high heat. Sear the scallops for 1 ½ minutes on one side, then flip and cook for 1 more minute. The tops should be crusty and nicely browned.
- In the meantime, add the oil to a small sauté pan. Add in the sliced leeks, seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper and sauté over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until tender. Add in the white wine, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 3 minutes or so, until the wine is mostly absorbed. Remove from the heat.
- In the same pan you seared the scallops, pour in the ½ cup of white wine. Over medium-high heat, reduce to wine by half. Add in the butter and reduce the heat to low. Season with salt and pepper, a pinch of each. Cook for 2 minutes and then add in the butter. Stir until smooth and warmed through.
- Serve the scallops on the bed on cooked leeks, with a drizzle of the sauce.
Tagged: beurre blanc, butter, coarse grain mustard, leeks, mustard beurre blanc, scallops, sea scallops, seared scallops, shellfish, white wine, whole grain mustard
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