Seared Scallops Recipe with Brown Butter Sauce
Pan seared sea scallops topped with a brown butter caper sauce taste incredibly decadent but take less than 30 minutes to prepare. Serve as is for a quick appetizer or pair with pasta or rice for a main dish.
Servings 4
Ingredients
Scallops
- 1 pound sea scallops, fresh or frozen and thawed
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
Brown Butter Sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained
Instructions
- Prepare the sea scallops. Pat 1 pound sea scallops dry with paper towels and remove the "foot" of the scallop (the tough muscle that attaches the shell to the scallop). Season both sides of the scallops with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
- Sear the scallops. In a large, heavy skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium. Add the scallops and sear until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate, cover, and keep warm.
- Make the brown butter caper sauce. In the same skillet, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter over medium until golden and browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and 2 tablespoons capers. Spoon the sauce over the scallops and serve with buttered cappellini angel hair pasta with minced parsley or fluffy white rice.