Liven up your taste buds and dinner conversations with some succulent, saucy scallops. These baked scallops are no everyday affair. They’re baked in butter for richness then brought back to life with fresh juices from orange, lemon, and ginger and garnished with tender aromatic herbs. I adore the fresh anise essence that tarragon brings here.
Prep Time5 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time25 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: scallops, seafood
Servings: 2people
Calories: 294kcal
Author: Chef Sara Furcini
Ingredients
16large sea scallopsapproximately 2 pounds
1tablespoonavocado oil or olive oil
Sea saltto taste
2tablespoonsbutter or ghee
1orangezested and juiced*
1lemonjuiced
1tablespoonfresh gingergrated finely then squeezed for juice*
Fresh tarragonfinely sliced for garnish
Instructions
Bake the scallops. Preheat the oven to 425F. Pat the scallops dry with paper towels and put them in a bowl. Toss with oil and a couple pinches of salt. Place coated scallops in an 8- by 10- inch baking dish in a single layer with some room between each scallop. Cut the butter into cubes (or add gobs of ghee) between some of the scallops (it will melt and spread in the oven). Bake until slightly golden on top, about 20 minutes.
Sauce and serve. In a small bowl, combine the orange zest and juice, lemon juice, and ginger juice. Spoon over the scallops and return to the oven for a couple of minutes to slightly reduce the sauce. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve with tarragon.
Notes
Zesting: Use a microplane and be sure to avoid scraping too deeply (the white pith layer is bitter). You only want to include the orange zest in this recipe.Juicing ginger: Ginger can have a hair-like texture that’s pretty off-putting. The trick to getting juice from a small quantity of ginger is to use a microplane or finely grate over a sheet of parchment for easy lifting. Hold the finely shredded ginger between your fingers and squeeze. Even a few drops of ginger is potent.