Seared scallops with balsamic butter emulsion
Servings: 4 people
Cost: $$
Ingredients
For the emulsion
- 2 cups balsamic vinegar
- 1 stick butter unsalted
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- freshly ground pepper
For the scallops
- 2 pounds scallops
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup clarified butter
- 2 springs thyme
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp butter unsalted
Instructions
- Place the vinegar in a medium nonreactive saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and ½ cup remains, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature. Place the butter in a skillet over medium heat and allow it to melt and turn light brown. Remove the butter from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. Gradually whisk the browned butter into the reduced balsamic vinegar. Wisk in the soy sauce and season with pepper to taste. Reserve the emulsion at room temperature.
- Season scallops with salt and pepper. Heat the bottom of a skillet with clarified butter over a medium-high flame, until the butter is nearly smoking. Add the scallops to the pan, don’t crowd them (depending on the size of the scallops, you may need to do this in 2 batches). Do not shake the pan or move the scallops around. Immediately reduce the heat to medium and add a little more clarified butter to the pan. Cook the scallops until they are deeply brown on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn the scallops over and add a spring of thyme and a clove of garlic to the pan. Allow the scallops to brown slightly on the other side, continuously basting them with the hot butter, about 2 minutes. Transfer the scallops to a platter with a slotted spoon and reserve in a warm place. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan and scrape with a wooden spoon to dislodge any browned bits; remove the pan from the heat when the butter is completely melted.
- Spread an equal portion of the emulsion on each plate, top with the scallops browned side up, in the center, and steamed asparagus on the side.