Seared Scallops Recipe
September 20th, 2009 | 30-Minute Meals Recipes, Eating Light, Non-Asian Recipes | 24 Comments
Easy seared scallops recipe with a cream sauce infused with Tahitian vanilla and whiskey. Simple, delicious, and almost restaurant-worthy.
The recipe is adapted from I Heart Vanilla, who kindly posted me the fabulous Tahitian vanilla beans. I never thought that vanilla pairs so well with savory dishes; seared scallops with vanilla, is a perfect marriage of flavors in heaven…
Judge it yourself by checking out the gallery above. Bon appetit!
Ingredients:
8 large scallops
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
1 clove of garlic, minced
Caviar from ½ vanilla bean, scraped
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup of cream
¼ cup of whiskey
salt
Method:
- Prepare the sauce first by heating the olive oil in the pan. Add mince vanilla caviar, garlic and cream, let it come to a simmer.
- Add whiskey in and cook the sauce until it is reduced slightly. Toss in the chopped fresh parsley after the sauce is ready. Set the sauce aside and tend to the scallops.
- In another pan, heat the pan on high until it is very hot. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and brush both even sides of the scallops with olive oil.
- Pan-sear the scallops for 1-2 minutes on each side. The sides on the scallops must be slightly browned each time.
- To serve, place scallops over some fresh baby spinach and spoon over the Vanilla Whiskey sauce over.
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These look absolutely delicious. I love vanilla beans- they are so elegant and delicate in appearance but pack such a great amount of rich vanilla flavor. This is such a unique recipe- I love the combination of the vanilla with whiskey in the sauce. Gorgeous!
Thank you for the comments. It is indeed a delicate yet elegant recipe.
Oh my this sounds sooo amazing!! I love the idea of using vanilla and whiskey in the sauce! Im saving this to try!
Try it out. I am quite sure you will enjoy it :)
Looks wonderful Bee. I love the combo of vanilla with shellfish. One of the best soups I’ve ever had was a blue crab and vanilla bisque. When I sear scallops I like to take advantage of the brown fond left on the pan from searing the scallops to make the sauce. It’s like pure flavour.
Haha, yes Marc. Sometimes, my husband licked the pan off after I seared the scallops.
These scallops (my prefered seafood) looks delicious! I like to combinate vanillia with food… I’ve tried with lobster in a restaurant (it was a creamy sauce)… delicious. Nice recipe and nice pictures! Thank you!
Yes, I thought about the combination of this recipe with lobster, too! Stay tuned as I just might very well get one done. Thank you!
Oh, I heart scallops.
Seems to me you just heart all good food :)
Amazing looking scallops & such an interesting use of vanilla beans too. I can imagine the flavors…whiskey & cream. If only I could taste it too!! Great stuff!
Yes, the result of this scallop and vanilla mix is a wonderful surprise. Try it if you have a chance.
Scallops with whiskey ! Great creation !
nice photos,looks delicious,I love it
I normally marinate the scallops with a bit of Japanese light soy sauce and just pan sear them for that fresh clean taste. This looks even better, with a touch of restaurant sophistication.
Yes, scallops are really good by nature so a little bit of seasoning is just what they need.
Yummy!
I wish they have fresh scallops here in Penang… but somehow, I’ve never seen them in the fresh market…any idea where can i get them, besides those really expensive frozen ones in Cold Storage??
I have no idea, we got some scallops at the clam island you told us but other than that, I don’t think you can get them fresh in Malaysia. :(
Other than Cold Storage, Jusco frozen food section do stock them in KL Mid Valley. Haven’t compared prices with Cold Storage though. Have not seen fresh ones anywhere.
Wow,
That looks stunning! I dont think you can beat scallops if cooked correctly!
It look amazing. can I use something else instead of the parsley?
You can do without the chopped parsley if you like.
Cooked this tonight. Outstanding! The whiskey-vanilla bean sauce was delicately sweet and a wonderful counterpoint to the seared scallops.