Sea Scallops with Sage Brown Butter over Carrot Purée

Sea Scallops with Sage Brown Butter

over Carrot, Ginger, Orange Purée

It’s important as a cook to try to break outside your comfort zone now and again by trying to use a new ingredient. I decided to try out Sea Scallops, which I picked up at a local fish market (Clean Catch on Selwyn for those local to Charlotte.) They may be a little bit more expensive, but they are worth it every once in a while.

I promise you – Make this dish for guests! You can make the carrots the day before, and it takes 5 minutes to prepare the scallops. This will knock people’s socks off with this one.

To serve this dish, place your carrot purée on the bottom of serving platter, place scallops on top (using tongs) and top with sage brown butter sauce.

Ingredients for Scallops:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

4 large sea scallops (or the amount of people you will serve this to.)

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

4 leaves of sage, chiffonaded (feel free to change herbs to thyme, tarragon, etc.)

Directions for Scallops:

Make sure your scallops are dry
before seasoning/searing.

Heat oil in a skillet large enough to fit the scallops without touching (over medium-high heat.)

Season scallops with salt and pepper on both sides.

Cook until deep, golden brown on one side (about 3 minutes). Turn scallops and add butter and sage to the pan. (Note: this butter will start to brown quickly.)

Spoon the butter over the scallops frequently until the scallops are cooked through and the butter is brown and nutty (about 3 more minutes.)

Serve scallops with the brown butter sage sauce from the pan.

Serve these alone if you choose –
They are still delicious at this point!

Ingredients for Carrot, Ginger, Orange Purée:

1 pound carrots, peeled, coarsely chopped. (I used a bag of organic baby carrots.)

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces at room temperature

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Directions for Carrot Purée:

Place carrots in a microwaveable dish with 2 tablespoons water in the bottom. Cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring halfway. (Carrots should be soft.) Drain well.

(Feel free to boil your carrots, but honestly, I was short on time, so I used the microwave.)

Place cooked carrots, orange juice, butter, and ginger in food processor until smooth. (If needed to thin out, use additional OJ or stock.) Season to taste (however, mine did not need any salt or pepper, just a bit of butter-shh!)