15 February, 2019
Seared Sea Scallops with Butternut Squash Puree
A great romantic dinner for two and fairly easy to make. The secret to scallops is to get a nice sear on the outside without making the inside rubbery. Butternut squash puree makes a nice bed for the scallops and a great presentation.
A few notes on the recipe: your local grocery or produce store sells butternut squash already cubed. It isn’t that expensive. It will save you a lot of effort in cutting the squash.
But if you want to get a whole squash, just slice it in half and clean out the seeds. Rub the olive oil on it and sprinkle it with salt. Roast it cut side up for about 45 minutes to an hour instead of 20 minutes. You can scrape the squash out of the gourd instead of cubing it up.
Serve with a crusty bread and a light salad with crunchy lettuce to bring some texture into the meal.
Serve this with a light, bright wine like Sauvignon blanc with lots of acid to counter balance the fat and creaminess of the food.
Ingredients
- 6 Sea scallops
- 1 lb Butternut squash Cubed
- 4 tbls Butter Divided
- 3 tbls Olive oil Divided
- 1 tsp Thyme
- 1 tsp Onion powder
- Kosher salt Coarse
- Pepper Finely ground
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Toss the squash in a large bowl with a tbls of olive oil and healthy sprinkle of the salt and a little pepper
- Spread the squash on a lined baking pan and roast on the top rack of the oven for about 20 minutes until the edges start to brown and the squash is soft all the way through
- Put the squash in a food processor with the thyme, onion powder, and 1 tbsp butter cut into small chunks so it melts
- Process until smooth.
- Dry the scallops with paper towels. If they aren’t dry, they won’t sear well
- Put 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp butter heat over medium heat until the butter stops sputtering
- Add the scallops to the pan with plenty of room between. DO NOT TOUCH FOR A MINUTE AND A HALF
- Flip them in the order you put them in the pan. DO NOT TOUCH FOR A MINUTE AND A HALF
- Remove the scallops.
- Put a large dollop of puree on a plate and use tongs to place 3 scallops on top
- Serve immediately