I love a good scallop however when I got the idea to put kalamata olives in a brown butter lemon sauce and pour it over the scallops, even I wasn’t sure how it would translate. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the salty taste of the olive added nicely to the seafood, lemon, and butter,

I typically buy the frozen scallops in the bag and then defrost them in a bowl of cold water in the refrigerator. If I can find them on sale I buy the dry scallops from the seafood market as those are even better. Scallops should never smell fishy if they do they are not fresh and you should discard them immediately.

The first trick to making scallops is to set them out on paper towels for 35-40 minutes to draw their moisture out. If you don’t they will be rubbery. The second is to not crowd them in the pan, Cook on a medium high heat in olive oil and butter. The butter helps them to brown without burning.

Only cook for 3-4 minutes per side until browned, flipping only once as they are very delicate. I use a small cake spatula to flip them. If you try to flip them over with a spatula that is too thick or heavy it may break the scallop.

Ingredients

• 12 Sea Scallops
• 3 Tablespoons of Butter
• 1 Tablespoon of Kalamata Olives (sliced)
• 1 Tablespoon of Chives
• 2 Tablespoons of Fresh Lemon Juice
• Olive Oil (Enough to coat the frying pan)

Instructions

1. Pat the scallops dry and place them on a baking sheet with a salted paper towel- place another paper towel on top.
2. Let them rest for 35-40 minutes
3. Pour the olive oil in the pan along with 1 tablespoon of butter and set the heat to medium
4. Add the scallops gently one by one (do not crowd the pan)
5. Let them brown, do not move them around
6. After 3-4 minutes peek underneath and if browned gently start flipping them over one by one
7. Peek at them after 3 more minutes and begin removing them one by one to a plate
8. Drain excess oil from the warm pan
9. Add in the rest of the butter and begin to brown it over medium heat
10. When it has reached the desired browned color add the lemon juice and olives
11. Cook for just a minute or two stirring until heated
12. Pour the sauce over the scallops

Enjoy!