cooking.nytimes.com

Bay Scallops Provençal

5.0(399)

Sometimes the best pairings are accidental. One weekend when I had some work to do, I asked my husband to go to the local fish market and pick up one of their marvelous chowders that could be reheated for lunch. He came home instead with a pound of local bay scallops, the first of the season (and abundant this year). Now I had to cook. Fortunately, I had other suitable ingredients on hand and in less than 30 minutes, lunch was on the table. Not one to let a tasting opportunity go to waste, I figured the dish I almost literally threw together would be compatible with a bottle of simple white Burgundy. It had just enough richness in the glass.

by Florence Fabricant

Open original recipe

FrenchEasy, Quick, Weeknight, Appetizer

Servings

(2–3)

Total time

20 min

Calories / serving

333 kcal

Ingredients (13)

serves

1 pound fresh bay scallopsbay-scallop
3 tablespoons flourflour
Salt and peppersalt-and-pepper
pepperpepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oilextra-virgin-olive-oil
1 large shallot, mincedshallot
2 cloves garlic, mincedgarlic
2 plum tomatoes, finely choppedtomato
Juice of 1/2 lemonlemon
1/3 cup dry white winewhite-wine
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softenedbutter
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsleyparsley
Toasted baguette slices, for servingbaguette

Instructions (3 steps)

01Season the flour with some salt and pepper and toss the scallops in it. Heat the oil in a 10- to 12-inch skillet. Add the shallot and garlic and sauté over medium heat a few minutes, until soft. Remove, draining well to keep most of the oil in the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high. Shake excess flour from the scallops and sauté them, tossing, until lightly browned.
02Return the shallot and garlic to the skillet. Add the tomatoes and sauté until they soften, a minute or so. Add the lemon juice and wine and stir just until the ingredients are well combined. With a slotted spoon, transfer the scallops to a warm serving dish. (It’s fine if some vegetables hitch a ride with the scallops.)