Seared Sea Scallops

Ken and I were thinking that for every large several course meal that we photograph and post on the blog, we would also write a more specific post with recipes and prep instruction for one portion of the meal. Here is the recipe and some cooking suggests for the seared sea scallops from the Feast on the Fourth meal.

Ingredients:
-10 fresh jumbo sea scallops
-1/2 - 1 lbs. blanched green beans (smaller beans are better)
-8 oz. fresh shitake mushroom caps
-1/2 T fresh thyme leaves
-blanched spinach, rapini, or dandelion greens (or any other green you like-- mostly for decoration, so choose something with large leaves)
-olive oil
-vegetable oil
-beef stock reduced to nappe (should be thick enough to coat a spoon very well)
-shallot
-1 1/2 C port
-salt and pepper

Port Shallot Sauce (can be done in advance):
-Take beef stock, and reduce it until it has thickened considerably, and is approaching the texture of demi-glace.
-Heat the reduced beef stock in a pot over medium heat.
-In a separate skillet, over high heat, lightly brown the shallot, with very little oil.
-When the shallot is softened and starting to brown, add about 1 1/2 cups of nice, sweet port wine, and reduce to a very heavy syrup (au sec).
-Strain, and add the reduced port to the stock reduction, and reserve for service.

Prep for the Meal:
-Blanch the green beans for 3-5 minutes (depending on the size), until they are mostly tender, but still have some firmness, then chill them in an ice bath.
-While the beans are cooling, slice the mushroom caps into thin 1/4" pieces.
-Once the beans are cool, slice them each into roughly three pieces on a bias (try to get them to be the roughly the same size and shape as the mushroom slices).

Cooking the Vegetables:
-In a large skillet, heat some olive oil over high heat.
-Add the mushrooms to the pan, and saute, adding some oil if necessary, as well as salt.
-When the mushrooms have completely softened, add the thyme, and allow it to bloom in the heat for a few seconds.
-Next, add the green bean pieces to the pan. Add salt and pepper and fresh thyme to taste. Toss to mix, cover, and then leave the pan on the stove over low heat until you're ready to plate the scallops.

Cooking the Scallops:
-Preheat your oven to 500.
-Get a nice, decently heavy frying pan hot over high heat, then add enough veg. oil to coat it well. Allow the oil to come up to heat for a minute or two (do not use a non-stick pan for this, or you will not get a nice sear.)
-Season the scallops with a small amount of salt
-Once the oil is hot, sear the scallops on one side in batches. Make sure to not crowd the pan, as putting too many scallops in at once will cool off the pan, and you won't get a good sear. Once your batch of scallops is nice and brown on one side (takes one to one and a half minutes), remove it from heat while you finish the rest.
-Once all the scallops are seared place them all, together, back in the pan, and place it in the oven for about 1-2 minutes (seriously, do not overcook these, or they will suck).

Finishing the Sauce and Plating:
-Arrange the veggies on the plate, use the leaves to make a bed/canvas, and make a nice pile of the mushroom/g.b. mixture on top.
-Take your scallops out of the pan, and set them on a rack for the moment, to cool.
-Take the pan from the scallops, add red-wine to deglaze, then reduce au sec (til it's dry), add a little (1/4 cup) of water, and add this juice to your sauce
-Arrange the scallops on the plate, pour the sauce, and serve!















Thanks, Ken, for writing this recipe out!