Scallops With Sorrel Butter

By Melissa Clark

Published May 13, 2014

  • Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(554)
Comments
Read comments

Sorrel is a wonderfully pungent, tart spring green that takes well to rich and sweet ingredients. Here, it’s melted into a garlicky, buttery pan sauce and served with seared scallops. One thing to note: as sorrel cooks, it dims from bright green to olive drab in color. But a garnish of chives – with the chive blossoms if you can get them – will perk things up considerably. If you can’t find sorrel, you can make this dish with watercress or spinach, though you may need to add a squirt of lemon juice at the end to balance the flavors.

Featured in: Taking Advantage of Sorrel’s Brief Life

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:2 to 4 servings

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 pound sea scallops, patted dry

  • Kosher salt and black pepper, as needed

  • 1 garlic clove, minced

  • 1 tablespoon dry white vermouth or white wine

  • 4 ounces sorrel (about 3 cups loosely packed), stems removed

  • 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 to 4 servings)

7 grams carbs; 50 milligrams cholesterol; 173 calories; 3 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 9 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 468 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in skillet. Season scallops with salt and pepper; place in pan in a single layer. Cook without moving until bottoms are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Do not turn. Transfer scallops to a plate.

  2. Step 2

    Return pan to medium heat. Add garlic and cook 10 seconds. Stir in vermouth and scrape up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the sorrel; season lightly with salt and pepper.

  3. Step 3

    Return scallops to pan, seared side up. Continue cooking until sorrel is a dark olive green and falling apart and scallops are just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle in chives and serve.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

5 out of 5
554 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Bill

In what seems to be a deviation from the norm, I prepared the recipe exactly as you see it here. It was absolutely delicious!

Thanks!

Gary

Outstanding dish and easy to prepare also. We have sorrel in the garden and it's available pretty much year-round here (Oregon). The only thing I would change is to sear the scallops on both sides before adding the garlic, sorrel and wine, and then add the scallops back at the end. The sorrel in the pan makes it hard to completely sear the scallops on the other side.

Pat Brownlie

Could not find sorrel on one of the days I made this so I used watercress. It was fine with the watercress.

Sue

Outstanding recipe! I substituted watercress for the sorrel and white wine for vermouth. So easy to make. Served it with rice and broiled asparagus ... a hit!!

Jane

"Searing Scallops, Skip the Flip Salmon isn’t the only seafood that benefits from cooking on one side only; so do sea scallops. Heat a pan until wickedly hot. Add a slick of oil, then your well-dried sea scallops (make sure they’re not touching one another). Cook for two minutes, add some butter to the pan, letting it melt. Baste the scallops until the tops firm up and turn less translucent, one to three more minutes. You can add other seasonings to the butter (garlic..)." Melissa Clark 10MAY23

Alan

My wife is allergic to shellfish so after making this when she was traveling I made it this time with rockfish. Worked like a charm.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.