In the post Adventures of the culinary sort on August 25 I wrote of our meal of pan seared scallops - an adaptation of a recipe from “Noble Pig” blog. ( A Tiny Addiction )
The original recipe called for champagne grapes…not finding them, I substituted blueberries. We enjoyed that meal very much even though in addition to the substitution, I neglected to get the butter hot enough to sear the scallops.
But this weekend I tried again. Not only did I find Champagne grapes, but I let the butter get hot and brown AND made sure the scallops were salt and peppered well. The result was a truly seared and crusty exterior, tender and moist inside, topped with that incredible sauce. The blueberries were very good in the sauce, but the grapes were excellent!
For anyone who loves scallops and enjoys a mix of spice and sweet, this recipe is very simple and quick - the primary tricks being the pan and butter to the correct hotness, rinse, salt and pepper the scallops (salt and pepper!!) and having the remainder of the meal ready to go. The scallops take 2-3 minutes per side (put them in the pan and don’t touch them for 2-3 minutes) the sauce about 2 minutes and you want to dish up and eat immediately.
This round I served roasted beets and steamed broccoli with the scallops - wonderful combination of color and flavor.
So…champagne grapes…I did some reading as I hadn’t heard of them before this recipe. They are very small - slightly smaller than blueberries. They are often called black grapes. They are the grapes that are currants when dried. Hard to tell in the photo below, but the plate is a sandwich plate, not a dinner plate…
that plate…Royal Dulton “Old Leeds Spray” - original china purchased by my great-great (maybe another great?) grandmother…