Brown Butter Scallops with Polenta
After all those rich, complicated, and time-consuming holiday recipes, I’m always craving something light, easy, and quick. These brown butter scallops with polenta are perfect for that!
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Polenta
- 1 cup medium grind cornmeal
- 3 tbsp butter
- 4 cups chicken broth or water
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese grated
Scallops
- 1 lb jumbo scallops
- 2 tbsp oil for frying (something high heat, like canola or grape seed oil)
- salt and freshly ground pepper
Brown Butter
- 3 garlic cloves smashed
- 1/4 cup butter
Garnish: fresh lemon, fresh parsley
Instructions
Polenta
- Boil the broth or water with salt in a medium pot. Slowly add the cornmeal, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Bring water down to low and stir with the whisk until it just starts to thicken. Put the lid on over the pot and continue cooking for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and add Parmesan cheese and butter. Stir to combine and pour into the serving plates.
Scallops
- Heat oil in nonstick skillet. Pat scallops as dry as possible, sprinkle with salt and pepper and add to the hot pan. After 2-3 minutes, flip them over and sear for another 30 seconds to a minute. Then place straight onto the serving plates over the polenta.
Brown Butter
- Put the smashed garlic cloves and butter in a clean skillet over medium heat and stir it while watching it closely – when the garlic starts to sizzle and the butter starts to look golden and foamy, remove from heat, discard the garlic and drizzle the butter over the scallops and polenta.
Garnish with fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
Notes
If polenta is too thick, simply add some more water or broth to loosen it up a bit and whisk until smooth.