Creamy Pan-Roasted Scallops With Fresh Tomatoes Recipe (2024)

a Mario Batalli tip - sear scallops on one side only, do not flip, remove from pan.When sauce done return scallops for only briefest of warmings. They're actually ready to eat after that one sided sear.

I'm curious about opinions on this recipe. I love a scallop with a good sear and in this recipe they are essentially poached. I'm thinking of searing my scallops and serving over the sauce. Thoughts? Anyone try this?

Although I understand you wanting to sear the scallops I think of this recipe more like making shrimp scampi. The scallops are going to cook in the sauce while absorbing more of that delicious flavor. Just my thoughts…

This is quintessential NYC Grand Central Oyster Bar! I can just see those men in starched white aprons and toques making it in their wondrously tiltable, gleaming copper pots behind the bar, steam rising, while I sip chilled Muscadet, Sancerre or Chablis. I am going to prepare this recipe for my 50th Anniversary this week.

The best substitute for the cream would be to make something else. And by the way Greek yogurt is no more healthy than cream. Any way you cut it this is not an everyday meal so have a healthy vegetarian meal day before and after and then enjoy this dish guilt free

IMHO, I think this sauce would be wonderful with shrimp and even sole or another thin mild fish. I’ll be trying this with fennel seed instead of celery seed as I’m not fond of the flavor. Serving it with shaved fennel and orange salad and using the fronds as the garnish in place of celery leaves.

Just follow the recipe. Poached scallops are divine. They are always done this way in Thai cooking, which I also do.

While I love scallops with a good sear, I followed this recipe exactly. The key is day boat fresh, dry sea scallops. The taste is more subtle than searing them but I thought this was one of the best scallop dishes I have eaten. BTW, I found the suggested cooking times uniformly a bit too long.

I would salt and pepper one side of the scallops then sear that one side of the scallops in butter with a couple tablespoons of rendered bacon fat. Once seared, but still raw, remove and plate the scallops. With the residual butter/fat, follow from Step 1 to the end. This provides the best of both seared and poached scallops with a little bacon flavor, which we all know has a flavor that is a match made in scallop & bacon heaven.

Add 2 ears fresh corn off cob when finishing sauce ....

If you have had this at the Grand Central Oyster Bar… You will know exactly what you are in for. Go to GCOB on a cold afternoon this fall and treat yourself to the oyster pan roast. Life changer.

Any ideas for a heavy cream substitute?

I was thinking the exact same thing.

The ease of preparation to excellence ratio for this dish is very high. I made the sauce 2 hours before dinner time, then heated it up, threw in the scallops and herbs (which I had prepared ahead of time). Incredibly easy! My guests and I were stunned at how good this was. Thanks, Melissa!!

exactly - I might cook the the shallots and the celery seeds first, remove, then sear the scallops, remove them and then proceed with the recipe, returning the seared scallops briefly at the end.

Add garlic after shallots. Last time I added pasta sand it went pretty well

Delicious recipe. I followed it except had to substitute celery seeds for a good quality celery salt and added shrimp, which was nice. When I do it next time I’ll put 2-3 tbs of Worcestershire sauce because I thought it was a pleasant taste but dominated the sauce.

Followed recipe using half clam juice and half wine, added smoked paprika and some garlic. Kept wishing I’d had a shellfish stock cube in the freezer but was out. And wish I’d cut down on the cream. For me the dish just needed deeper or more layered flavor than the clam juice and scallops could provide. Perhaps if I’d had vermouth on hand it would have made a difference? Loved poaching the scallops though. If I make it again it will be when I have shellfish stock on hand to add some depth.

2 pounds of scallops is way too much We ended up using a third of what I bought and the rest went out with the trash bc there were just too manyThe sauce is amazing, just buy less scallops!

Delicious. I used baby scallops and then tossed the sauce with linguine. I used fennel seeds too, as it's impossible to fine celery seeds.

This is fantastic! Reading through the notes I ended up cooking up a little chopped bacon and adding to the sauce at the end, as well as searing the scallops in the bacon fat. Served it on top of grits and our guests said it was Michelin star worthy. This will be added to the list of options when we we have company or want something a little decadent.

Made exactly the way the recipe is written. The most AMAZING scallops i have ever eaten.

Add tomato paste to the fresh tomatoes, and either fresh spinach or green peas to the sauce at the same time as the scallops. Serve with buttered crusty bread as shown in the picture, or with a toasted slice of oily focaccia. Beautiful meal, thank you Melissa!

I turned this into a pasta with linguini fini. Added shrimp, used a little pasta water and parmigiano reggiano, and this made a great pasta sauce. Highly recommend

Like others in the comments, I prefer a little more color on my scallops, so I broiled them quickly and warmed them up in the sauce, adding in all the juices. I also swapped fennel seed for celery seed. Incredibly delicious, with the sauce being the star--you could honestly serve the sauce with anything and it would be great. Since scallops are are so pricy, next time I might do it with half scallops, half pre-cooked vegetables (potatoes, cauliflower, celery root).

1/2 the recipe is more than enough for two people.If using 1/2 the scallops make 3/4 of sauce.Add few pinches of red pepper flakes for additional flavor

I loved this as written, although my wife suggested searing scallops on her own, thus agreeing with many comments. For her it was a texture thing. Surprisingly to me, this dish kept well and leftovers were very enjoyable two days later on rice.

Made exactly as written but 1/2 amount as starter. Absolutely wouldn’t change a thing, but thinking of making a more elaborate version with shrimp and langoustines. Middle of the table, in the pan, with baguette and green salad for informal family dinner.

Fantastic recipe. Only modifications I made were to add about 4 -5 mushrooms to the sauce, and used one extra tomato over 2 cups. Parsley and chives for the garnish and fennel seeds since I didn't have celery. Took about 10 minutes for the scallops to cook but they had been frozen and may not have been completely defrosted when they went into the pan. Really delicious!

Husband loved this sauce so much he saved and poured over a piece of leftover veal.