My husband and I had the opportunity to enjoy the weekend alone without children (woo-hoo!). Of course, leisurely cooking was at the top of the list and we decided to get a little saucy preparing a carrot-ginger sauce to go along with pan seared scallops.
When you are trying to find ways to enjoy healthy, flavorful and delicious food think about vegetables that can move beyond their side dish status to rise to a more fun and sensual journey.
Pan-Seared Scallops with Carrot-Ginger Sauce
Serves 4-6
Recipe from Fine Cooking
Ingredients:
16 Sea scallops
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of butter
For the Carrot-Ginger Sauce:
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons chopped shallot
1 3/4 cups lower-salt chicken broth; more as needed
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into large dice (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
Directions:
Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over low heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but not brown, about 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the carrots, return to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until the carrots are just tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
Pour the carrot mixture into a blender and add the soy sauce, ginger, rice vinegar, honey, and sesame oil. Puree until smooth. Pour the sauce into a fine strainer set over a bowl and gently press it through the strainer with a spatula or wooden spoon. Discard the solids. If the sauce seems thick, thin with additional broth to the desired consistency.
Note: This sauce may be made and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead.
Pat scallops dry. Sprinkle scallops with sea salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large non-stick skillet over high heat. Add scallops and cook until golden on both sides and just opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side.
Spoon-carrot ginger sauce onto the center of a plate and top with seared scallops.
Enjoy!
Chef E
I hope you got more of them than that! LOL I am so nice to Robert, I always give him more, since he adores them. I am making this sauce. One thing I have never explored are carrot sauces- a little dislike from childhood, but I should since I love to juice them with beets now!This looks great!
Angie's Recipes
I have never had or made any carrot ginger sauce…I must try it soon. I guess it would be also very lovely to serve with some pan-seared cod fillets.
Unknown
that looks amazing Velva…I will have to try that. I have made a carrot puree but never with ginger as that sounds great…Thanks!! Glad you had a nice evening. :o)
figtree
Velva next time dry scallops are on sale this will be on the agenda!!Its so nice when its just you and your hubbie you take the time to prepare such a lovely meal. (Times like this we get take out..shhhh!)Thanks for another yummy recipe.
Meals by Misty
I love getting saucy! I also adore scallops. Carrots are ignored way to often in my household. They have such pretty color! (Yes, I do like orange, but prefer CRIMSON) HAHA 🙂
Dinners and Dreams
mmm, carrot-ginger sauce. How original and delicious!
Andy
Velva,That looks great!! Does the sauce taste similar to the Japanese carrot ginger salad dressing (which I love…does anyone have a good recipe for this?)Thanks,Andy
Christo Gonzales
this sauce sounds great – a lot of the vegetarian places around make a similar type sauce and its used as a salad dressing, I bet this would work as well.
TKW
That's so funny! I have the exact same recipe cut out and waiting to be tried! It looks like a smashing success!
Pam
This is one delicious looking dish! My hubby loves carrots so I must try this. Thanks!
Lazaro Cooks
The scallops are cooked to pefection. Great dish!Cheers!
Carol
This one looks fabulous! Have to try the sauce! A leisurely weekend? What's that?! Yours sounds lovely!
ann low
Carrot Ginger Sauce?? Sounds good ~ will bookmark it.
tinyskillet
The carrot-ginger sauce sounds great! They look lovely too. Hope you both enjoyed your weekend sans kids (I know that was a stupid remark) of course you did!
buffalodick
Scallops and anything are a hit with me!
From the Kitchen
Velva, I stopped by to thank you for coming with me to \”Mitford\”. I enjoyed our \”trip\”. And, as always, I'm coming away with a delicious recipe! I'll plan this one out so that my husband and I can get a bit \”saucy\” as well.Best,Bonnie
T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types
I have been surprised at what a creamy consistency you can achieve with carrots without adding heavy cream. I've made some wonderful soups, with great success, so I will absolutely give this sauce a try.
Karen Harris
Beautiful recipe. I have a recipe for carrot, coriander and ginger soup that I love. I can only imagine throwing a few scallops in there. Enjoy your grown-up time.
Chris
I could see that working as a drizzle underneath an Asian influenced grilled chicken breast too. Nice.
Faith
Your scallops look gorgeous! Paired with that tasty sauce, I bet they taste amazing!
teresa
this is so pretty, i've never seen anything like it. i especially love that sauce!
Subhie Arun
wow..its looks gorgeous dear….the sauc looks so creamy and yummy…
Mary Bergfeld
Velva, this is a beautiful entree. I love scallops and have bookmarked this to make the next time I bring them from the market. The color of this dish takes my breath away. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings…Mary
Julie
Velva – This looks amazing! Can't wait to try these!! I am always looking for new scallop recipes. The sauce is so important in scallops. Thanks for sharing!!!
Jen_from_NJ
Your scallops look just perfectly cooked and the sauce sounds spectacular! I can't wait to try this one out. Thanks for sharing!
Ingrid_3Bs
LOL, oh, man! How lucky is that? I'm almost never without one of my three. This looks great and that sauce sounds interesting. I never think of turning veggies into a sauce or puree.~ingrid
Mary | Deep South Dish
Yum, do those look good! Pan seared is the way to go with scallops for me too and the sauce sounds wonderful. Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you enjoyed the peace this weekend!
Eliana
This sauce sounds heavenly. I kinda want a bowlful of just the sauce.
Susan Fields
Oh that looks delicious – I love scallops!I hope you enjoyed your kid-free weekend. 🙂
theUngourmet
I tried scallops once years ago and didn't care for them. I avoided them until my last birthday. We went out for fondue and I ordered a seafood fondue and discovered that I really do like scallops after all. Now, I find myself craving them! This recipe looks fantastic! I must try making it!Glad you got some alone time with your sweetie! 😉
Nammi
WOw, looks nice . I have never had scallops, have seen frozen ones at the supermarket and have been toying with the idea of making it . So how do you know when they are done?
3 hungry tummies
A beautiful dish for your romantic weekend without the children, priceless!
Joanne
Date night! Sounds like the perfect meal for it too. That sauce is so vibrant…I can tell it must be super tasty.
Valerie Harrison (bellini)
I saw the perfect scallops at my local fishmongers the other day. I can't wait to give this a try.
Claudia
This carrot sauce would go so well with many types of fish. Inspiration! And so pretty with the white. Love finding new things to do with vegetables.
Barbara
This is a gorgeous presentation, Velva! And I love scallops! Can't wait to try your carrot/ginger sauce.
SuziCate
mmmm, can't wait to try this!
The JR
A very appealing dish. Luv scallops!
~Lavender Dreamer~
Love the pretty dish and I'm happy to get the recipe for the sauce! Sounds like something we've eaten in a restaurant and always wanted to make! ♥
Rachel Cotterill
Yum, carrot & ginger, I love that combination 🙂
RamblingTart
Splendid idea, Velva! 🙂 Mmm, I'm envisioning turning my carrot dill soup into a lovely sauce for something too… 🙂
Jennifer
Sounds like a nice kid-less weekend!!! and what a treat, this sauce sounds fantastic paired with sweet scallops!
[email protected]
This sauce looks fantastic! I bet it would be awesome on almost anything… I'm thinking shrimp kebabs, or even as a dip for chicken fingers. Ooohh… or perhaps thined down as a sauce for soba noodles. Yum!
Ken Bowie
Gotta love date night…especially when it involves excellent food!!
Lori
Carrot ginger sauce? Oh, that sounds amazing and what a beautiful presentation!
Unknown
This looks absolutely lovely, and the ingredients are sensational. I know I'd totally love this.*kisses* HH
paulakiger
This sounds delicious; unfortunately Wayne has an aversion to cooked carrots so I may have to do this one solo!!!
tasteofbeirut
This is a novel way to serve scallops and I would love to try it; I usually love anything with carrots and the combo with ginger is superb; it counterbalances the blandness of the scallops.
Momgateway
beautiful carrot ginger sauce…
La Bella Cooks
I have everything I need in the fridge to make this! I can't wait.
Hungry Dog
Very fancy, Velva! Sounds like a fabulous and romantic dinner for you and the hubby.
Lorraine
The flavors in this dish sound amazing! My husband loves scallops, but I usually do not make them because I'm not a huge seafood fan, hence not great at preparing it. This is definitely a great way for me to try again.
Anonymous
Carrot ginger sauce sounds amazing with these perfect scallops!
Stella
Hey Velva, I love this and it would be perfect for my Cauldron Boy (smile). He adores scallops and we have him on a high beta carotene diet due to vision problems. I'm going to really try to fit this in some time this or next week, b/c I know he would appreciate. Great Post!
Tina
You make your dishes so delectibly gorgeous, the plating, the food, the colors…wow!
The Absence of Alternatives
I have tears in my eyes. I don't know why. Maybe because my stomach is growling and I need to go figure out a way to wipe up the drool that fell between the keys on my laptop?
MaryMoh
Beautiful presentation . Looks very delicious. The sauce looks very tempting.
Sophie Sportende Foodie
Hello Velva!!I think this is the most stunning scallops dish that I have seen in a very long time & i have made it yesterday evening & the flavours were fantastic!!MMMMMMMMMMMMM,…Great for a dinner party too!