This post is part of fellow book blogger, Beth Fish Reads‘, weekly meme (a “community” blog post, for all those non-bloggers out there) called Weekend Cooking.
When I lived in NYC, I often took cooking classes at the Institute of Culinary Education (formerly Peter Kump’s) on 23rd Street. They have an overwhelmingly large selection of recreational cooking classes – on every kind of food and cooking technique you can imagine and many that you’ve probably never thought of!
The recipe I’m posting this week (Scallops with Caramelized Grapes in White Wine Reduction Sauce) is an adaptation of one of the dishes we made in a class called “American Regional Favorites: California Wine Country”. Some of the dishes from ICE classes are admittedly too complicated or contain some hard to find ingredients for me to make at home, but this one is surprisingly simple and has a short, simple ingredient list. It’s also healthy and light!
Scallops with Caramelized Grapes in White Wine Reduction Sauce
Adapted from Institute of Culinary Education’s “American Regional Favorites: California Wine Country” class
12 sea scallops
4 tablespoons of butter (I use vegetable oil)
1 shallot, minced
1/2 cup Sauvignon Blanc (I use Pinot Grigio just because that’s what I have in the house and it works great)
1/2 cup fish stock
1 cup red grapes, sliced in half
2 tablespoons cold butter
1. Season scallops with salt and pepper
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter (or vegetable oil) in a large sauté pan (I use a cast iron skillet) over medium-high heat until hot. In 2 batches, sauté half of the scallops until brown and caramelized, approximately 2 minutes on each side. Keep warm in oven.
3. Drain excess fat from the pan. Return to medium heat and add shallots to pan, and sauté until lightly caramelized. Deglaze pan with wine and reduce until almost dry. Add stock and reduce. Add the grapes to heat through. Add butter and season to taste.
Note: In cooking class, the scallops were served with a cauliflower puree that was delicious. But, it takes too long to make and the scallops are just as delicious (and healthier – since the puree contains heavy cream) without it, so I always skip it.
What an amazing opportunity to have been able to take those classes. Those scallops look awesome.
I do enjoy scallops and haven’t had them in awhile. Interesting combination with the grapes!
I thought it was totally random when I first read the recipe, but it’s delicious!
What a lovely combination. Cheers
Oh I bet my sister-in-law would love to take a few classes there. Thanks for the tip.
Best cooking classes I’ve ever taken!
I bought a groupon to a place like this once upon a time but never used it and now have two kiddos to try and schedule time away from. Sounds like an amazing experience, though! I love scallops but I’ve always been too intimidated to try cooking them myself.
Scallops are my favorite seafood. It’s been years since I’ve taken a cooking class. Should track one down and try one again!
That does sound like a great melding of flavors. Bookmarked this recipe!
I’ve always wondered if I could handle cooking scallops at home (so far I haven’t tried!) – I think this may be the recipe to start with. Thanks for sharing it – it looks amazing!
They’re actually fairly easy, which I didn’t realize until this recipe!