Pan fried scallops with crème d’échalote (shallot cream sauce)
Seared scallops with crème d’échalote (shallot cream sauce) is a delicious and simple sauce. With a base of butter and cream blended with shallots, tarragon and wine reduction it’s very similar to beurre blanc. The crème d’échalote goes well with any white fish or, as shown in today’s recipe, with seared scallops. A perfect match!
Today’s dish is seared scallops with crème d’échalote (shallot cream sauce). This french recipe tutorial focuses on teaching you how to make this classic French sauce that can be served with fish or scallops. The culinary technique we will learn today is a sauce that starts with a reduction a sec (reduction of an acidic liquid to an almost dry state) which is then “binded” by a reduction process (no thickening agent are added).
This recipe will produce enough sauce for 4 or more people, depending on how much sauce you use.
Ingredients needed for the sauce:
- 150 ml of dry white wine (like a muscadet or sauvignon blanc)
- 250 ml of liquid cream (heavy whipping cream or double cream)
- 50 grams of finely sliced shallots 1 gram of fresh tarragon (finely chopped)
- 125 grams of plain unsalted butter, cut in small cubes (must be fridge cold)
- Half a teaspoon of crushed black pepper (mignonette)
- A pinch of salt ( or add to your taste)
- A pinch of cayenne pepper
- For decoration one large zest of orange and lemon cut in julienne and some finely sliced chives
Notes and tips: – In this video, only half the quantities listed above were used – The butter used in the sauce must be cold – Reducing the cream with the quantity above might take up to 10 minutes –
Instructions:
Clean the scallops:
- Start by cleaning your scallops thoroughly under running cold water. when done pat them dry with a kitchen towel and reserve in a dish (covered) in the fridge.
Make your mise en place ( food preparation
- wash peel and finely slice the tarragon, shallots
- cut the citrus in julienne and blanched them in boiling water for 5 minutes
- cut the butter into small cube
- measure the wine and cream
Start the sauce:
- in a sauce pan on medium heat. add the shallots, tarragon, and white wine with some crushed black pepper. when done leave to reduce until almost dry.
- reduce the heat, add the cream in an leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, turn you heat down to very low, take the butter out of the fridge and start incorporating it to your sauce little bit a the time (while whisking gently (as shown on the video)
- as soon as all the butter in in pass the sauce through a sieve into a smaller pan and leave to rest on the side of the stove ( ideally on a very low heat as it needs to be kept warm)
Pan fry the scallops:
you can use whatever method you like to pan fry your scallops. in my case I used a table spoon of plain butter that I leave on low to medium heat until it reached a hazelnut color ( beurre noisette) I then cook the pan fry the scallops for 2 minutes in each side then leave them to rest for 1 more minute on the side of the stove (while I finish the sauce)
Finish the sauce and serve.
- while the scallop are resting get the pan with, correct the seasoning of the sauce by adding add a pinch of cayenne pepper and a bit of salt.
- you are now ready to serve the scallops.
- plate the scallops on a bed of sauce an decorate with julienne of citrus and some finely sliced chives.
This recipe tutorial in video:
