Seared scallops gratin and criss-cross potatoes will elevate any dinner menu. A mix of perfectly seared scallops, cheese sauce and buttery potatoes.
Seared Scallops Gratin and Criss Cross Potatoes
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Food:
Fish
Cuisine
French
Serves:
2
Prep Time:
10 min
Cook Time:
40 min
Seared scallops are so easy to make and elevate a menu from any old dinner party to something a little more special. These eared scallop gratin are covered in an herby cheese sauce and served with smoky, buttery, criss-cross potatoes. The secret to a great seared scallop is of course butter and proper seasoning. You don’t need anything else aside from salt and pepper, but you definitely don’t want to skip that step. The key component for the creamy cheese sauce for the scallops is the herbed cheese. The recipe calls for Boursin cheese, but you can use any herbed cream cheese instead. The herbed cheese is mixed with cream, white wine, parmesan cheese, garlic and both lemon zest and lemon juice, plus fresh tarragon. The ingredients are melted and cooked together until bubbly and delicious - this cheese sauce was so velvety and full of flavour. Next, the potatoes are cooked in butter in the smoker and then finished off on the plancha to get a great crispy exterior. The combination of buttery potatoes with perfectly seared scallops and herby cheese sauce is the best bite.
Enjoy!
By:Chef Matt Basile
Ingredients
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2 russet potatoes
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1 cup butter
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4 U10 scallops
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1 tbsp fresh tarragon
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150g herbed cream or soft cheese
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1 tbsp cream
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1 lemon, zest + juice from half
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½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
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¼ cup white wine
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1 clove garlic
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Salt
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Pepper
Instructions
Set Smoker to 350F.
Slice your potatoes length-wise into half inch pieces. Centring each potato slice between two chopsticks, slice the potato on a bias, making sure the chopsticks prevent you from cutting all the way through. Flip the potato and do the same this on the other side.
Place a large cast iron pan on the plancha and melt 1 cup of butter. Add in the criss-cross cut potatoes and place in the smoker and allow to cook for 30 minutes. Once done, transfer to the plancha and allow to crisp up, flipping midway. Reserve the butter from the pan for the scallops.
In a bowl, combine the fresh tarragon, herbed cream cheese, cream, white wine and use a microplane to grate in the garlic. Add lemon zest from one lemon and juice from half. Mix. Add in the grated parmesan cheese, but reserve 1 to 2 tbsp for garnish. Mix. Add the cheese sauce to a cast iron on the plancha and allow to melt and bubble, stirring often.
Pat your scallops dry. Place on the plancha and pour some of the remaining butter from the potatoes on top, allow to sear 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and sprinkle with salt, the juice from half a lemon and season with pepper. Sear, about 2 to 3 minutes more until cooked.
To plate, place your potatoes down, cover in the cheese sauce and place a scallop on top of each cheesy potato. Add the other half of grated parmesan cheese over top, garnish with fresh tarragon.