Tartlets, I’m bringing you recipe 1 of 2 today for Forgotten Sisters: Baked Sea Scallops.
You’ll see in the photos below that they’re served with Lemon Spinach Basmati Rice, and the recipe for that dish will post later this week.
Why are Baked Sea Scallops the book-inspired recipe for Forgotten Sisters?
So much in Forgotten Sisters revolves around water and the sea. The sisters in the book are obsessed with The Little Mermaid, which obviously makes me think of all things ocean-related. I wanted my book-inspired recipe for this novel to involve fish or seafood.
I feel like scallops are an underutilized member of the seafood family, especially when it comes to cooking dinner at home. A lot of people order them at restaurants, but once you realize how easy and delicious baked scallops are, you’ll be making this recipe on repeat.
What I love about Baked Sea Scallops
Seafood should be drenched in butter, and that’s pretty much what happens with these Baked Sea Scallops. You give them a lil’ bath of melted butter, some herbs, and shallot, and then you cover them in a blanket of crispy herbed breadcrumbs.
The scallops cook up silky and tender, with no briny aftertaste. You can use any herbs you want with this dish, but fresh tarragon and parsley compliment the seafood really well.
And, of course, there’s the crispy breadcrumb topping. No one ever went wrong using that.
Cooking scallops is surprisingly easy
Sea scallops are one of those foods that seem difficult to cook. And, sure, they can be, if you’re searing them or grilling them. The easiest way to cook sea scallops is to bake them.
When you bake scallops at a pretty high temp – 425F – they cook quickly, evenly, and completely. This recipe calls for maybe 10 minutes of prep time, and dinner is ready to serve just 10-12 minutes later.
How many people does this recipe serve?
The Baked Sea Scallops recipe below is for 10 large scallops, which I originally thought would serve two people a nice, hearty dinner.
However, upon diving into my meal, I discovered that 2.5-3 scallops, when served with the Lemon Spinach Basmati Rice, were more than enough for me.
So, this recipe feeds 2-4 people, depending on your appetite. The great news is that it can easily be doubled or tripled to feed a crowd for a dinner party or a holiday meal.
What do you serve with Baked Sea Scallops?
All the photos in this blog post show Baked Sea Scallops served over Lemon Spinach Basmati Rice (recipe coming soon!). Some other great side dishes would be Mushroom Risotto or Creamy Pesto Pasta.
For dessert, I recommend serving something light and refreshing like Lemon Sable Cookies or Rose Water and Orange Fairy Cakes.
Other favorite seafood recipes of mine include Paprika Shrimp with Smoked Gouda Polenta, Cioppino with Garlic Toast, and Chilled Seafood Salad.
And, if you’re looking for a way to use up some leftover fresh tarragon, Creamy Tarragon Chicken is the only recipe you need.
Baked Sea Scallops
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 10 large sea scallops
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 4 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon, DIVIDED
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 large pinches of ground nutmeg
- 1/3 cup Italian seasoning breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
PREP INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Spray a small casserole dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Chop the herbs. Set aside.
- Mince the shallot. Set aside.
- Melt the butter and set aside.
- Rinse and pat dry the sea scallops. Set aside.
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
- In a medium bowl, combine the sea scallop swith the minced shallot, nutmeg, 2 tbsp chopped tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the melted butter over the ingredients and gentle mix together with clean hands or a spatula.
- Spoon the sea scallop mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Make sure each scallop is covered with some butter-herb mixture.
- In a small bowl, mix together the remaining 2 tbsp chopped tarragon, the parsley, and the breadcrumbs. Add the olive oil and stir together to create a sandy breadcrumb (au gratin) topping.
- Sprinkle the topping over the scallops in the casserole dish.
- Bake the sea scallops at 425F for 10-12 minutes, until the breadcrumbs have browned and the scallops are fully cooked.
- Serve immediately, preferably over a bed of Lemon Spinach Basmati Rice.
