If you want to expand your seafood recipe repertoire, there are many different ways to prepare scallops so it is a good place to start. It is often tempting to just make or buy "plain" breaded scallops to pop into the oven, but after you try a few new recipes, you may change your mind about that and start collecting more recipes.
One of the easiest ways to prepare scallops (in addition to the already mentioned buying them already breaded to bake) is to saute them. Begin preparation by softening two cloves of minced garlic and 2 small sliced leeks in extra virgin olive oil. (Remember that leeks can have dirt between layers so clean well by soaking.) This step will take about 6 or 7 minutes.
Next add red or yellow sweet peppers that you have cut into very thin strips and half a pound of sweet sugar snap peas. (Remove their strings first.) Stir-fry this mixture for about 4 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup of liquid next. I suggest using clam juice, readily available in supermarkets, but chicken broth or stock will work well, too. Allow this mixture to come to a boil and then take if from the heat.
In the meantime, gently shake a pound and a half of cleaned and dried small scallops in a container with flour to cover them. Place the scallops into a preheated large pan with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. You may want to add a little butter also for a nicer coloring. Saute the scallops for a few minutes until they are golden and then combine them with the vegetable mixture that you had put aside.
Add about a tablespoon of butter to the pan and then gently mix it into the scallops and vegetables when you remove the pan from the heat. If you wish, sprinkle some of your favorite fresh herbs over top.
Another scallop recipe uses this delicate seafood to stuff flounder. This is a very elegant meal and would be great for a dinner party. Begin by melting 1/2 cup of butter. Saute 1 clove of minced garlic and a small onion that you have diced. Add 1/2 pound of diced scallops and saute for about 4 minutes.
Season with pepper and a little salt if you wish to use it, and then add chicken broth or stock, not a lot, just enough to moisten some dry or fresh bread crumbs that you will be adding next. Fresh bread crumbs make the best stuffing, so you may want to keep that in mind. Make enough stuffing to divide equally among the amount of fish filets you will be using.
Put a flounder fillet into a baking pan and place some stuffing on top. Fold up the ends and put into your baking pan. Pour about 1/2 cup of hot water and 1/2 stick of melted butter around the fillets in the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the fish flakes and is nearly finished.
In the meantime make a basic white sauce according to your favorite recipe for it (2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 cup milk, pepper, and a little chicken broth or stock) and pour it over the fillets. You may want to sprinkle a little paprika on top. Allow it to bake for 5 or 10 additional minutes.
