Scallops in Brandy Sauce

It’s day 12 of the Kickstarter, and we are chugging along. As I write this we are at about 42% funding, and we’re exactly 40% of the way through the campaign. There is a long way to go yet, and I hope you’ll find the time to check out the Kickstarter page and pre-order yourself a cookbook (or book a Forest Feast). But first, let’s dig into another section of the cookbook. Next up is Holiday Recipes. The recipes in this section represent a variety of cuisines, but are primarily recipes like this one, Scallops in Brandy Sauce, which are a bit more complex or indulgent.

In this recipe, we pair perfectly seared scallops with a rich, unctuous sauce flavored with shallot, garlic, tomato, brandy, egg, and cream, among other wonderful things. Borrowing a technique from the Greek soup avgolemono (another recipe you’ll find in the cookbook), we use eggs as a thickener in the broth, creating a sauce for the scallops which tastes decadent without overloading on the cream. Buslife cooking has rarely been so refined.

Scallops in Brandy Cream Sauce

Perfectly seared scallops nestled in an unctuous sauce flavored with shallot, garlic, tomato, brandy, egg, and cream.

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Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American, French

Ingredients

  

• 1 lb. scallops
• 3 tbsp butter
• ½ cup minced shallot
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp double-concentrated tomato paste
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• ½ cup + 2 tbsp brandy or cognac divided
• 3 cups light stock fish/vegetable/chicken
• 1 cup clam juice
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup cream or half & half
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• finely chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

 

• Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, and then sweat the shallots and garlic until they just begin to brown at the edges.
• Add the tomato paste and white pepper, mix well, and cook for two minutes or so, until the tomato paste starts to stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Deglaze with ½ cup brandy, scraping the bottom to get the fond. Then add the stock and clam juice, and allow to simmer over low heat. Once a gentle simmer is reached, remove from heat.
• In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, cream, vinegar, and 2 tbsp brandy until uniform. Temper this mixture by pouring a thin stream of broth from the pot while whisking. Once tempered, strain the broth to remove the shallots and garlic. The soup should take on a nice pale color and more unctuous flavor.
• In a separate heavy-bottomed skillet, cook your scallops. Begin by patting them down with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture. Place the skillet over medium-high heat. Once nice and hot, add a good amount of high-heat oil (like vegetable or grapeseed). Sprinkle a bit of salt over your scallops and place them, salt down, in the hot pan, being careful not to crowd the pan. After around 2 minutes, they should have a nice brown crust on the bottom side. Sprinkle a bit of salt over the top and then flip them, cooking them for around 30 seconds more on the other side. Remove from the pan and allow to rest.
• To serve, place a few scallops in a shallow bowl and surround with broth. Garnish with a bit of freshly chopped parsley and white pepper, if desired. Serve with plenty of good, crusty bread to soak up the broth.

The other recipes in the Holiday section of the cookbook are:

Banoffee Pie
Ditchberry Cobbler
Egg Nog Creme Brulee
Simple Gravy
Mom’s Cranberry Sauce
Mushroom Bruschetta
Glazed Ham Steaks
Pumpkin Mousse
Pumpkin Soup
Thanksgiving Burger
Vegan Oreo Icebox Cake

If you haven’t yet, this is clearly the moment to pop over to the Kickstarter page and order yourself a cookbook (or maybe even a Forest Feast).