Title: Coquilles Saint-Jacques Sautees a la Provencale
Categories: Italian Seafood
Yield: 4 Servings
| 1 | lb | Or about 2 c. scallops |
| | | Cut into 1/2 inch pieces |
| | | Lemon juice, salt, and |
| | | Pepper |
| 1/2 | c | Flour |
| | | Olive oil or cooking oil |
| | | A 10 inch frying pan |
| | | (preferably a no-stick |
| | | Pan) |
| 2 | tb | Minced shallots or |
| | | Scallions |
| 1 | | Clove garlic, mashed |
| 2 | tb | Butter |
| 2 | tb | Minced fresh parsley |
Dry the scallops in paper towels, then place on a large sheet of waxed
paper. Sprinkle with drops of lemon juice, then with salt and pepper. The
moment before sauteing, dredge with flour and shake in a sieve to dislodge
excess flour. Film the frying pan with a 1/16-inch layer of oil. When
almost smoking, add the scallops. Toss for 4 to 5 minutes until scallops
are lightly browned. Then toss for a moment with the shallots or
scallions, and garlic; finally toss with the butter and parsley and serve.
Suggested accompaniments: If the scallops are a first course, accompany
with French bread. For a main course, accompany with broiled tomatoes and
green beans. Notes: Sauteed scallops should be crisp light brown outside
and moistly tender inside. Keys to success are: have your sauteing oil very
hot before the scallops go in, and have no more than one layer of scallops
in the pan. Otherwise the scallops will steam, exude moisture, and will
not brown. You may find, in using frozen scallops, that they will start out
nicely, then suddenly release juices in the pan; to avoid this, blanch them
before cooking by dropping them in a large pan of rapidly boiling water and
bringing them quickly back to the boil, then drain immediately, dry them,
and proceed with the recipe.