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Seared Scallops with Pinot Gris Butter Sauce

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Seared Scallops with Pinot Butter Sauce. Spectacular and restaurant quality. Elegant and pretty e-a-s-y. Serve this for a special dinner for two, or for a dinner party and your guests will think you’ve just graduated from culinary school.

Seared Scallops with Butter Recipe

It’s not all buffalo burgers, elk steaks and Rocky Mountain oysters out here in the wild wild west..We can plate up an elegant dinner with the best of ’em and especially if beautiful sea scallops are available.

We thought this dish was spectacular. Restaurant quality, elegant and (shhhh)…pretty e-a-s-y. Serve this for a special dinner for two, or for a dinner party and your guests will think you’ve just graduated from culinary school.

First let’s address the scallops by giving my cast iron skillet a standing ovation. A few years ago when I purchased it from the Army Surplus store down on South Broadway, I never imagined it would be my most prized kitchen tool. 

You can throw a five-pound pork roast in this thing and it tosses back a beautifully seared piece of meat in minutes and then trust it with a most delicate sea scallop and it rewards you with a perfectly crusted cube leaving the tender meat inside juicy and sumptuous. Bravo, cast iron skillet!

 There’s no other adjective I can think of to describe this sauce other than divine. The all-star lineup of ingredients including shallots, thyme, cream, butter and Pinot Gris turn this dish into a delightful experience.  Perfect for seared scallops.

Throw in some buttery toasted pine nuts for a soft crunch to compliment the slight crunch of the sear on the scallops and you’ve got an out of this world dish.

Make sure you have a slice of rustic Italian bread to get every single drop.

Cheers! This seared scallops recipe comes from Hugh Acheson (an F&W Best New Chef 2002) of Five & Ten restaurant and Gosford Wine in Athens, Georgia. 

Suggested wine was a Pinot Gris from either Oregon or California. Our choice was a bottle we’ve been saving for a special meal from Noble Pig winery in the McMinnville AVA in Oregon.  Cathy’s Noble Pig blog was one of the first food blogs I started following a couple of years ago and I’ve followed her journey of completing  her degree in oenology from Davis College in California, moving her husband and two children to Oregon, and purchasing land to hone their skills as winemakers. 

Needless to say, when they proudly offered their first bottling, we quickly ordered 4 Pinot Noirs and 2 Pinot Gris. Cathy, your Pinot Gris tasted so good in the sauce and drinking the remainder with the meal, paired beautifully. A match made in heaven for scallops.

Recipe for Seared Scallops with Pinot Gris Butter Sauce

I hope you give this Scallops with Pinot Gris Butter Sauce Recipe a try, and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating. And leave a comment about your experience with the recipe.

And if you have a favorite scallop recipe, please let me know, I’d love to give it a try.

More Scallop Recipes

If you love cooking scallops as much as we do, you won’t want to miss these recipes.

Healthy, Easy Seared Scallop Recipe with Pinot Gris Butter Sauce. Easy enough for a weeknight, but elegant enough for a special occasion dinner or for a holiday.
Print
Seared Scallops with Pinot Gris Butter Sauce
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 

Elegant and Easy. Perfect scallop recipe for a special dinner.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: seared scallops
Servings: 4
Calories: 304 kcal
Author: www.highlandsranchfoodie.com
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts
  • 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 medium shallots minced
  • 2 cups Pinot Gris
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  • 1 cup fish stock or chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
  • 1 tablespoon minced chives
  • Salt and ground pepper
  • 1 Cup baby spinach packed
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 16 large sea scallops
  • 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes optional
Instructions
  1. In a skillet, toast the pine nuts over moderate heat until golden, 2 minutes; transfer to a plate and let cool. Lightly crush the nuts.
  2. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Add the shallots and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until browned, 4 minutes. Add the wine and thyme; boil until reduced to 1/4 cup, 15 minutes. Add the stock and boil until reduced to 1/4 cup, 9 minutes longer. Add the cream, bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
  3. Strain the wine sauce into a clean saucepan. Whisk in the butter, 4 pieces at a time, until the sauce is thickened and smooth; set the pan over low heat as necessary to help melt the butter. Stir in the chives and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
  4. In a medium bowl, toss the spinach with the lemon juice and the remaining olive oil; season with salt and pepper.
  5. In the skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Season the scallops with salt and pepper, add to the skillet and cook over high heat, turning once, until browned but barely cooked through, 2 minutes per side. Transfer the scallops and spinach to plates. Garnish with the pine nuts and pepper flakes. Gently reheat the sauce, spoon on top and serve.
Nutrition Facts
Seared Scallops with Pinot Gris Butter Sauce
Amount Per Serving
Calories 304 Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Cholesterol 20mg7%
Sodium 443mg19%
Potassium 332mg9%
Carbohydrates 9g3%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 10g20%
Vitamin A 210IU4%
Vitamin C 2.7mg3%
Calcium 37mg4%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Seared Scallops with Pinot Gris Butter Sauce…It’s What’s for Dinner

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Lea Ann says

      June 26, 2011 at 4:04 pm

      I do believe the happy hour bell is ringing and there’s a glass of wine with my name on it. Those scallops are amazing Greg. Better give the recipe a try. As always, thanks for stopping by and the comment.

      Reply

  4. Larry says

    June 26, 2011 at 6:25 pm

    Great write up LA – your dish looks outstanding and the sauce just must be tried here. I like the little bloom – nice touch. Great shots, great dish, great writing – what else can I say

    Reply

  5. Zia Liz says

    June 26, 2011 at 6:47 pm

    That looks fantastic! I may have to make that for Zio sometime, even though I can’t have the shellfish.

    Reply

  8. My Carolina Kitchen says

    June 27, 2011 at 4:18 am

    We love scallops too Lea Ann. Your dish is indeed elegant and worthy of the finest company. Thanks for the reminder to use our trusty friend the cast iron skillet. Sometimes I forget about it.
    As always, outstanding photos. Love your little chive blossom “broom.” Very nice touch.
    Sam

    Reply

  9. Vickie says

    June 27, 2011 at 6:28 am

    What a fun post! This is a gorgeous dish – and really elegant when it’s plated. Yum! It’s good to have a recipe like this in the arsenal. The iron skillet crusted those scallops perfectly! The photos were great and told the story quite well, down to the empty plate. 🙂 Love the “cheers” shot!

    Reply

  10. Lea Ann says

    June 27, 2011 at 6:37 am

    I agree, this recipe went directly into the arsenal! I love that darn cast iron skillet. And I even think I somehow accidentally got it seasoned just right. Thanks for the photo and the story telling compliment. 🙂

    Reply

    • Vickie says

      June 28, 2011 at 9:54 pm

      Speaking of cast iron – if you don’t have a cast iron comal (griddle), I think you’d really enjoy it. Ours LIVES on the stove and is just the thing to grill bread, tortillas and toast nuts, sandwiches, etc. etc. It’s a little workhorse and small enough that it’s a cinch to keep clean. . . . I’m just sayin. 🙂

      Reply

    • Lea Ann says

      June 27, 2011 at 9:28 am

      I need to go back and look for a dutch oven. Thanks for the beautiful scallops from the Dry Creek Store .. fabulous. Also had trout last night. I’m loving your selection and quality

      Reply

    • Lea Ann says

      June 27, 2011 at 11:22 am

      You’re probably right about that Steve. That thing weighs about 50 pounds. Even though I’d trust it with a scallop, not sure I’d trust it with a glass-top. 🙂

      Reply

  15. Barbara says

    June 27, 2011 at 11:51 am

    You’re so right about cast iron skillets. There are some things that HAVE to be cooked in them. Scallops are one. Looks fabulous, Lea Ann, and I’m pleased to read about Cathy’s wine being such a perfect match.

    Reply

  16. Susan says

    June 27, 2011 at 12:59 pm

    This a delicious and very elegant looking dish! I have also found the benefit of using cast iron to get a good sear on scallops and salmon. We even put a large cast-iron griddle on our grill outdoors when we do scallops and salmon when it’s nice outside.

    Reply

  20. Cathy at Wives with Knives says

    June 28, 2011 at 5:44 pm

    That is one out of this world dish, Lea Ann. I have the same feelings and attachments to my cast iron skillet too. I couldn’t live without it. Thanks for the recommendation forNoble Pig’s Pinot Gris. Their vineyard is so close to where I live that I can almost call them neighbors.

    Reply

  23. Chris says

    July 3, 2011 at 8:54 pm

    I have my handwritten notes about “perfect scallops” and they all revolve around a properly preheated cast iron pan. That is the best and easiest way to get that pretty crust you have on yours. Flawless!

    Reply

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