Having tried some horribly overcooked bay scallops in my youth (and hated the chewy consistency and somewhat fishy taste) I banished the scallop into a land usually only occupied by members of the mushroom family: The Land of Foods Whose Texture Makes Me Nauseous. It's a small land, but a disgusting land nonetheless.
As time wore on, I found myself drawn to the scallop. And when I would remark on not liking them many of my scallop-loving friends told me that overcooked scallops are pretty disgusting..but a perfectly cooked scallop is absolutely heavenly. So months ago while dining out with friends I ordered a grilled sea scallop dish and basically had a food induced orgasm, so delicate and delicious were those scallops. Whew.
So now that I like scallops, it means I can crave scallops. I become rather one track minded about food. If I feel like something, I must have it to rid myself of the craving, or else other meals I have are colored by the fact that it's not that thing. Have you ever had pasta when you really wanted a burger? It's an odd feeling. So when I crave a certain dish I try to get to it (within reason).
So when a scallop craving hit me last week, I turned to one of my scallop-o-holic coworkers who provided me with the perfect recipe: easy, kind of decadent, and delicious!
Scallops with Leeks and Cream
3 leeks - green ends chopped off.
1 lb sea scallops
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup white wine
1 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Now I prefer sea scallops to bay scallops. Sea scallops are the larger ones you will usually find in nicer restaurants and bay scallops are what you might find wrapped in bacon at a function. Both are delicious when done right, but I think the sea scallops are a little more special, and a little more tender so I went for those.
Usually when you buy sea scallops, they will have this little crescent shaped muscle on the size that tends to get tough so remove them before you get started.
Slice leeks down middle and then across into 1 inch chunks. Place in a bowl of cold water and swish around to remove sand and dirt. Drain.
Heat butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Add leeks and salt and pepper and cook for about 15 minutes over medium heat until tender.
Add in wine and boil for a minute. Add in cream and boil for an additional minute.
Add scallops and cover. Cook for three minutes or until opaque.
Serve over rice!
It's creamy and tasty and the leeks and cream perfectly compliment the scallops. Not to mention it takes not even half an hour to make!
6 comments:
That looks so good. I seriously wish I could convince Dan to eat scallops, where did you have the grilled dish that converted you to a scallop-lover?
Adam doesn't care for scallops that much either but he really did enjoy this dish!
The restaurant was UnWined in Manchester, NH. It is a great place! Lots of fabulous wine and excellent food.
http://www.unwined.net/
I loooove scallops! I am looking for some Weight Watchers friendly scallop recipes but I will definitely try this on a cheat day though! Looks delicious.
I will have to try this dish. I am really hoping to become a better cook, and starting off "simple" is my way of trying. Though I have found it very easy to mess up even the simplest of dishes!
Hey Kimba that's how I started out to! When Adam and I first moved in together I couldn't even cook a simple chicken breast without completely charring it! I actually ruined Minute Rice! That's why I loved FoodTV.com because you can sort the recipes by degree of difficulty and then just try out the Easy ones. If you are not already using it you should check it out!
There is a to die for looking scallop, pea and fettucini recipe in this month's Eating Well. I will try to post it - yours looks amazingly yummy!
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