Dreaming Of Nantucket Bay Scallops!
Behold. These are Nantucket Bay Scallops. Yes, they are about the size of a U.S. dime, but they are packed with a thousand dollars of flavor!
I am lusting for them right now, but I will have to be patient, and here’s why.
Let’s take a look at this “bivalve mollusk”: where they come from, how they are harvested and most importantly, when they are available to buy and eat!
Thirty miles off the Massachusetts coast, Nantucket Island is home to the world’s oldest sustainable bay scallop fishery. Nantucket Bay Scallops are a seasonal delicacy: just a few months in the U.S. winter, and so now, in the heat of summer, I have a craving for them – and here’s a recipe that shows you why!
A local purveyor describes them this way:
“Nantucket’s isolated location and clear waters create a unique habitat that nurtures wild bay scallops, harvested in their second year after spawning, and are renowned for their subtle texture and distinct flavor.”
This is a photo I found online credited to Marine Science, Maria Michell Association. It’s a stunning shot of a Scallop in the water, waiting to be harvested.
The commercial harvesting season for Nantucket Bay Scallops extends from November through March , so for now, I will make this same recipe using larger, year round Scallops.
Thanks to Dorothy over at The New Vintage Kitchen, I had a terrific recipe to work from when I made these in February – here’s how I made them!
Here are your ingredients:
1 lb. Nantucket Bay Scallops Flour for dusting
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter or non-dairy butter 2 or 3 large shallots, minced
2/3 cup dry white wine
Another tablespoon or two of butter Salt and pepper
A handful of thawed frozen peas
Mashed potatoes are served underneath, so make a bath of those as well!
Clean the scallops, and soak for an hour in milk…it makes them cook better!
Pat them dry and dust them with flour. Season.
In a large, heavy skillet (not non-stick) heat over medium high and add the oil and butter. Once it is shimmering and the butter melted and no longer bubbling, add the shallots and sauté until they start to brown. I finished them and set them aside in a mug as you can see.
I then added some butter to the pan, got it hot and added the dusted scallops in a single layer – try not to crowd the pan, or they will steam and not color.
Here’s how I did it:
Cook for two minutes, without touching them, then turn if they are browned. I then stirred them up a bite and cooked for another two minutes, then I added the fresh peas, the wine and the caramelized shallots like this:
Literally bring the flavors together quickly and you are done!
Dorothy’s recipe ends with this last instruction and I love it:
“Serve over the mashed potatoes, and call everyone to the table. It will probably get quiet. Really quiet.”
She is right: they are just terrific: there’s a slight sweetness to these scallops, because they are small and packed with scallop flavor! The peas offer a nice bite and the shallots make them creamy…yes, I made VERY garlic mashed potatoes…you can serve a fresh salad on the side and you have a great meal!
Here’s a video of the entire process in a minute!
Dorothy shared a terrific recipe – slightly different as you will see – as well on her “New Vintage Kitchen” website…check it out here!
I love all sizes of Scallops, and you can make any scallop dish using this recipe – just increase the cooking time by 4-5 minutes….but these ones are truly special – normally I cook with the larger ones like this:
Same idea: sear them in a pan for this beautiful color – and I served them over a “zucchini – garlic succotash!” Here’s that recipe:
I love seafood – and I am also going to make one of my favorite stews again soon:
For now, if you are just too hungry to wait, you can click here for my most recent foray – I am really digging “Squid Stew” – see the recipe here:
I love the look, smell and taste of pan-seared scallops…and as part of 2022’s “52 In 22” cooking challenge, I made scallops three ways!
Little did I know when I started that one way would be BLUE!
Click here to see two great scallop recipes and one “turning blue” disaster!
I also cooked a “scalloped” dish, but it was an incredibly rich potato dish!
It was the “joy of cooking” to be sure!
Click here for the recipe!
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Categories: 52 In 22!, Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Chef memoirs, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food Travel, Food Writing, Recipes, Travel
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Now you have me lusting for scallops!
This looks like a spectacular scallop dish. Love the potatoes as well.
Yes Im going to use full size scallops which I also love – thanks for the note Chef!