This recipe for Maple-Glazed Scallops with Autumn Salad is the delicious result of a collaboration between Yankee senior food editor Amy Traverso and the chefs at the Ocean House resort in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. The sea scallops are pan-seared and basted with lemon, butter, and maple syrup; the “autumn salad” is a garnish of apple, persimmon, and pomegranate that was inspired by a salad recipe in Amy’s The Apple Lover’s Cookbook.
This dish first appeared on the menu at Ocean House during an apple-themed installment of the resort’s “Women + Wine” dinner series, hosted by Amy and featuring Spottswoode wines.
Note: U10 is part of a grading system for scallop size based on how many whole scallops are needed to make a pound. (U10 = no more than 10 scallops in a pound.)
Yield:
4 single appetizer servingsFor the Maple-Glazed Scallops
Ingredients
4 each U10 scallops
2 tablespoons grape-seed oil
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 lemon, cut in half
Instructions
Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water evaporates on contact.
Pat your scallops dry with a paper towel. (The drier the scallops are, the more golden brown they’ll get in the pan.)
Heat the grape-seed oil. Meanwhile, sprinkle the tops of the scallops with kosher salt. Add them to the pan, salted side down, and press. Sprinkle salt on the new top sides.
Use a spoon to press the scallops gently down, which helps them caramelize. Don’t worry if they stick, because eventually the heat will force them to release.
Once the scallops are a deep golden brown, turn them over, take the skillet off the heat, and squeeze half a lemon over the scallops. Immediately add the butter and maple syrup to the skillet.
Using an oven mitt or towel to protect your hand, tilt the pan at an angle so that the melted butter and syrup pool on the lower side. Use a large spoon to baste the scallops with this liquid as it foams. Keep spooning the fat over the scallops until it stops bubbling.
Take the scallops out of the pan and set them on a paper towel to absorb any extra butter.
Place each scallop at the center of a plate, and scatter the “autumn salad” garnish around the outside.
Spoon some of the glaze from the pan over the garnish, and finish with a little juice from the remaining lemon half.
For the Autumn Salad
Ingredients
1 Fuji apple, cored and sliced thin
1 cup arugula
1 Fuyu persimmon, sliced thin (remove the green/brown top portion)
1 cup pomegranate seeds
½ cup toasted pistachios
Instructions
Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and toss to combine.
