Scallops with Sautéed Spinach: Simply Impressive

Scallops are as impressive as they are easy to make. Recipe below.

Okay, let’s all just admit it. One of the big pleasures of cooking is serving a dish that is so delicious, beautiful, sophisticated or [D] all of the above that your guests are blown away. And when said dish is also quick and brainlessly easy to make, you’ve got a real keeper.

Dishes with scallops tend to fall squarely into this camp on all counts. Both the larger sea scallops and their smaller brethren bay scallops have a delicate, slightly sweet and decidedly unfishy taste. And like mushrooms and tofu, they readily take on flavors of herbs, sauces and other seasonings.

Visually, their plump, drumlike shapes—think marshmallows [sea scallops] or miniature marshmallows [bay scallops]—lend themselves to an array of beautiful presentations.

And in terms of simplicity, it just doesn’t get much easier than scallops. In fact, the hardest part of cooking them may be trying to rinse away any tiny particles of sand that can get lodged in the scallops while they’re inside their shells [yes, they are shellfish, so check with guests for any shellfish allergies before adding them to your menu].

I rinse them under cold running water while gently brushing a finger over all surfaces, feeling for grains of sand. It’s a mostly successful method, but occasionally you may bite into a teeny grain that escaped your attention. Big deal. It’s sand, unlike the euphemistically named “vein” in shrimp [which, as we all know, is the shrimp’s, well, guts]. I did look online to see if there was any secret to washing scallops that I didn’t know about. Pretty much everyone just said, “wash scallops to remove grit.” One person did opine that if you’re getting grit on your scallops, you should change sources for buying them—but with so many others telling you to rinse the grit away, one can only wonder at this person’s rarified fishmonger sources. If anyone has a secret tip, I’d love to hear it.

Scallops aren’t just easy to prepare—they’re quick. About the only way you can really screw them up is to overcook them, in which case they’ll come out tough and chewy. So you’re forced to cook quickly [we’re talking minutes here] and not belabor things.

Here’s a quick, impressive recipe that’s actually two great dishes. You can make them separately, but they’re especially wonderful together.

Scallops with Sautéed Spinach
Serves 2 [can be doubled]

For Scallops:
10 to 12 sea scallops [see Kitchen Notes]
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1/2 cup brandy [optional, but recommended—see Kitchen Notes]

For Spinach:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1 large or 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 bag baby spinach [6 to 8 ounces]

Rinse scallops to remove any grit. If your scallops have white, sinewy looking pieces on the side [sometimes they do, sometimes not], trim them off with a sharp knife; this is the foot that attached it to the shell. Blot scallops dry with paper towel and arrange on plate with flat sides up. Season with salt, pepper and half of tarragon. If tarragon flakes are large, crumble slightly in your hand. Turn scallops over and season other side as above. Dredge just the flat surfaces of scallops [tops and bottoms, not sides] lightly in flour.

Heat a large [12”] non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add oil and butter, swirling pan to melt butter and mix it with oil. Gently plop scallops, flat side down, into pan. Sauté on one side for no more than 2 minutes, then turn them over. They should be nice and browned. Sauté for 1-1/2 minutes on other side, then transfer to plate and tent with foil.

Pour brandy into skillet [all at once to reduce amount of spattering] and let it boil down for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping up any browned bits with spatula. NOTE: Brandy has a high enough alcohol content that some cooks advocate removing the pan from the flame when you first add brandy to a hot pan. I haven’t encountered problems, but just have a lid at the ready to smother the flames, if you’re concerned. Other cooks advocate actually igniting the brandy in the pan with a match, an entertaining spectacle called flambéing. Let me just warn you here that the brandy will burn cheerfully for quite a while, so again, have that pot lid handy. Personally, I just pour in the brandy and let it cook down—no drama.

Meanwhile, right after turning on the flame under the scallops pan, turn a medium flame on under a large, heavy dutch oven or pot for the spinach. You want it ready to go right after you’ve put the scallops into the other pan. Melt the remaining butter into the olive oil in the pot. Add the garlic and stir until it is fragrant, 45 seconds or so. Then add the spinach and toss it with the butter, oil and garlic. Here’s why you need the big pot: The spinach will start out HUGE and need to cook down. Add half the spinach at first, if necessary, and as it begins to reduce in volume, add the rest. After it’s all been coated with the butter and oil mixture, cover the pot and turn off the heat. It will continue to wilt and cook in the heated pan.

When the brandy has reduced somewhat, toss the spinach once more, then divide it between two plates. Arrange the scallops on the beds of spinach. Drizzle the brandy sauce over the scallops and serve.

Kitchen Notes

Scallops. Like some other seafoods that are sold as fresh, scallops are often actually flash frozen to keep them fresh longer. That’s okay. They won’t be frozen solid when you buy them, and rinsing them will complete the thawing process. Ask the fishmonger to select nice, large scallops of uniform size and shape—it helps to smile nicely and say thanks. If five scallops look too measly for a serving, do six per serving. Keep in mind, though, their rich taste makes them quite satisfying.

Brandy. You don’t need the good stuff here, people. We cook with a modestly priced brandy generally found in supermarkets and liquor stores, E&J Brandy. You can also use it as part of a sauce for chicken breasts, among other things, so don’t worry that you’ll only use it for this dish. You can use vermouth instead, but the brandy complements the natural sweetness of the scallops beautifully.

Cooking with alcohol. People often say that when you cook with wine or other alcohols, the alcohol cooks off. The truth is, MOST of it cooks off. And the shorter the cooking time once the booze hits the pan, the less of it cooks off. So if you’re cooking for a teetotaler, play it straight and don’t add the alcohol.