Scallops Provencal

Julie Powell commented in Julie and Julia that she shared with Julia Child a love of butter, and attributed the amount of butter she consumed during her project for her weight gain. It's true, butter makes everything delicious and delightful (says the girl who was raised on margerine...) This dish is no exception; the addition of 4T of butter makes an amazing sauce to accompany the lightness of the scallops. This was heavenly and creamy.

After his first bite of scallop, A said "Mmmmmm" (as in yummy), but wouldn't eat it after that. Dunno.

I served this over whole wheat thin spaghetti, which was a great choice. I didn't have much in the freezer for veggies (I think broccoli would work perfectly), so went with corn.

Definite keeper! I could definitely have gone back for seconds, thirds, if I wasn't concerned about all that butter!

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1 lemon, cut in 1/2

Directions

If you're using bay scallops, keep them whole. If you're using sea scallops, cut each 1 in half horizontally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.

In a very large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in 1 layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on 1 side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes, total. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.