BROWN BUTTER SEARED SCALLOPS AND DELICATA SQUASH

SEARED SCALLOPS the perfect date-night dinner-for-two

My goal with this dish was to make a perfect date night in for two dinner—mighty high goal, I know. It’s ok, I ACHIEVED IT! The richness of the brown butter combined with the texture of a perfectly seared scallop and that excitement of a newly in-season delicata sqaush made for a truly perfect meal. Good news is that everything in this dish is easy to make. You don’t have to be a pro-cook to get expert results here. It’s a few simple steps that when combined give you this incredible result. You will surely wow your dinner date with this dish.

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BROWN BUTTER SEARED SCALLOPS AND DELICATA SQUASH

Yield: 2 Servings

Author: Michelle Williams

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min

Ingredients

FOR THE SCALLOPS

• Sea Scallops (1 pound, cleaned, side muscle removed, fully dried with paper towel)
• Vegetable Oil (2 tablespoons)
• Salt
• Pepper

FOR THE DELICATA SQUASH

• Delicata Squash (1, thoroughly washed)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1 tablespoon)
• Cinnamon (1 tablespoon)
• Salt
• Pepper

FOR THE BROWN BUTTER SAUCE

• Unsalted Butter (1 stick)
• Sage (2 tablespoons, finely chopped)
• Finishing Salt (for topping your dish)

KITCHEN ITEMS

• Cutting Board
• Chefs Knife
• Spoon (for scooping out your delicata squash seeds)
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Baking Sheet
• Silpat
• Large Frying Pan (1 used my 12 inch one)
• Tongs
• Plate
• Rubber Spatula

Instructions

TO ROAST YOUR DELICATA SQUASH

1. Preheat your oven to 425º.
2. Cut both ends off of your delicata squash. Stand it up on one of those ends and cut it in half from top to bottom.
3. Use your spoon to scoop out all of the seeds. Discard of them.
4. On your cutting board, using your chefs knife, cut your squash halves into 1/4 inch thick half moon slices. Place them in your mixing bowl.
5. Drizzle your olive oil over your squash.
6. Sprinkle your cinnamon, salt, and pepper over your squash. Toss it all together until your squash is evenly coated in your oil and seasonings.
7. Lay your squash slices in a flat layer on your baking sheet. You don’t want any to overlap or it will make for an uneven bake.
8. Bake for 15 minutes.
9. Flip all of them and bake until you begin to see blackening on the edges—roughly 10 minutes.

TO COOK YOUR SCALLOPS

1. To begin with, you want your scallops to be extra dry. So if they are at all wet, use a piece of paper towel to dry each one.
2. Season your scallops with salt and pepper on both sides.
3. Over high heat, heat your frying pan. You want it super hot for searing your scallops.
4. Pour your vegetable oil into the pan and let it heat too. It should be so hot that when the scallops touch it, they sizzle immediately. If they don’t, the oil isn’t ready yet.
5. Place your scallops in the oil (again, they should sizzle when they touch the pan/oil). Cook until the side touching the pan has a golden color—about 2 minutes. Don’t over crowd your pan. If you need to cook in batches, that is better (I cooked mine in 2 batches).
6. Using your tongs, flip your scallops and cook their other side until it too is golden—about another 2 minutes.
7. Transfer them to your plate.

TO MAKE YOUR BROWN BUTTER SAGE SAUCE

1. Over medium heat, melt your butter down in your frying pan. Use your rubber spatula to move your butter around consistently the whole time you are cooking—about 4 minutes after your butter has melted.
2. Add in your sage and keep moving your butter.
3. Once your butter has browned and your sage is cooked down and is more brownish black than the vibrant green you started with, it’s ready. Remove it from the heat.

TO PUT YOUR DISH TOGETHER

1. Lay your roasted delicata squash on your serving plate.
2. Place your scallops evenly around your plate on top of and in between your squash slices.
3. Pour your brown butter sage sauce over your dish.
4. Sprinkle finishing salt over your squash.
5. Serve hot.

Did you make this recipe?

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