Scallops with a Honey Parsley Gastrique and Blue Cheese

Seared scallops with a honey and parsley gastrique and a bit of blue cheese - Diversivore.com

Scallops with a Honey Parsley Gastrique and Blue Cheese

An elegant and delicious show-stopping appetizer that also happens to be very achievable in the home kitchen - especially with these key tips and tricks.

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine Canadian, European, French, Miscellaneous, North American

Keyword blue cheese, honey gastrique, how to make a gastrique, pescetarian, seafood with gastrique, seared scallops, sustainable seafood

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Servings people

Calories 225kcal

Ingredients

1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp blue cheese (~30 g or 1 oz)
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley minced, separated into 1-1/2 and 1/2 tbsp portions.
8-12 scallops (2-3 per person, depending on size)
pinch salt

Instructions

Heat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Add the honey and stir until it begins to bubble. Stop stirring and allow the honey to continue cooking for about one minute, or until it has become a dark amber colour. Add vinegar to the pan (it will boil and bubble very vigorously). Once the mixture has settled down a little, stir it together and continue to cook until it's reduced in volume by about 1/2. At this point, it should nicely cling to the back of a spoon. Remove from heat, add 1.5 tbsps of chopped parsley, stir, and set the completed gastrique aside.
In a small bowl, combine 1/2 tbsp of chopped parsley and blue cheese. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
Rinse the scallops under very cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Salt the scallops very lightly (they have some natural salt already).
Melt the butter and olive oil together in large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Add the scallops to the pan and cook until the edges are visibly crisp and brown (about 3-4 minutes). Once they are nicely browned and ready to turn, flip the scallops and sear the other side for 2-3 minutes, or until nicely browned and crisp. (See note below about searing scallops)
Plate the scallops and top with some of the browned butter from the pan, then the gastrique. Top with a small dollop of cheese and parsley. Garnish with a few parsley leaves, serve immediately.

Notes

When searing scallops, the key is patience. The scallops should release from the pan with fairly minimal effort. If the scallops won't budge, they're not ready and turning them will likely rip them apart. Depending on the pan you use, you might have hot spots in some sections, meaning that the cook times may differ slightly, so don't be concerned if one scallop seems like it's done early.

Do NOT try to overcrowd the pan. The scallops should have plenty of space in the pan and should be nowhere near touching each other. If you're new to searing scallops or you're concerned that your pan isn't big enough, cook the scallops in two batches, each with half of the butter/olive oil mixture in the pan.

Nutrition