Scallop meat is sweet, delicate and tender and is not difficult to prepare. Our recipe below provides three different ways to serve this popular mollusc but if you are running short on time and just want to enjoy yourself with family and friends without the hassle of cooking, we sell some delicious ready-made flavoured butters that provide the ultimate short cut (and bonus – no-one ever has to know!)
Meunière Butter: Quality butter with lemon juice, capers and parsley, this is a traditional French butter sauce which is perfect for white fish (Orange Roughy, Ling, Barramundi) – or Scallops!
Cafe de Paris Butter: This butter has hints of Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and herbs, and although common on steak, we think it’s the perfect accompaniment for Salmon, through to your mashed potato or on top of your roast veggies – or Scallops!
Ingredients:
Garlic & Herb Butter
- 75g room temp butter
- 50g panko bread crumbs
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- ½ bunch parsley, chopped
- 1 lemon, zest
Ginger and Spring Onion
- 50g room temp butter
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
- 2 spring onions, sliced thinly
- 1tsp sesame oil
- 1tsp soy sauce
Bacon and Chipotle
- 2 streaky bacon rashers, sliced thinly and cooked till crispy
- 50g room temp butter
- 1tsp smoked chipotle tabasco sauce
- 1tbs chopped parsley
Method:
1. Mix each of the butter mixtures in separate small bowls. Place the bowls into the fridge for 10 mins.
2. Preheat an oven to 190 fan grill. Arrange the scallops in-shell on a non-stick Raco oven tray so they lay flat. You can help the scallops lie flat with a few pieces of foil. Top the scallops with the butters, six scallops per flavour.
3. Place the oven tray on the bottom rack of the oven so the grill doesn’t burn the scallops. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the scallops are golden on top and the butter is bubbling.
4. Serve straight out of the oven with a few lemon wedges on the side.
Scallops are an ancient and global-wide food source with over 300 different species living in the world today. Made famous by Botticelli’s 15th century painting, the “Birth of Venus,” that shows the goddess of love stepping out of a scallop shell, this simple bivalve has had a bigger impact on the world than one would expect.
The term “scalloped” in a cooking sense has come to mean preparing any kind of food with cream and butter, which has been a popular method of the preparation for scallops when served in their shells. Another meaning of the term “scalloped” is related to the ruffled edges of the scallop shells and the term is now used in a generic design way to mean wavy edges.
Found near the coast of many countries including Australia, the shells have been utilised throughout history for everything from money to jewellery, and recipes for scallop dishes have been found as early as the Ancient Roman Apicius.
Nutritionally, scallops are very high in protein, low in fat, high in omega 3s and vitamin B12, magnesium, zinc and potassium.
In Australia there are 3 main types of scallops fished commercially – the Tasmanian Scallop, the Saucer Scallop and the Queen Scallop. Here at Dawsons we sell Tasmanian and/or Hervey Bay (QLD) scallops depending on the time of year. Scallops usually range from $2-$2.50 each and come with the roe on or roe off. Scallops are sold fresh or frozen, either shucked or left on the half-shell.
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