Grilled Scallops with dry white wine and garlic butter.
This is one of the easiest of ways to cook scallops and I consider one of the very nicest, we have sold literally thousands in our pubs.
You need six scallops for a main course.
Fresh or frozen can be used equally as effectively.
Buying scallops in the shell is probably the cheapest way to buy them and you are guaranteed that they are fresh.
If you have never shelled a scallop ask you fishmonger how to do it, like oysters, you could end up with a knife in your hand in more ways than one.
If you do shell them, clean away all the surplus so that you are left with white scallop meat and the pink coral, place the scallop meat and coral in lightly salted water and keep under normal refrigeration until needed. Scallops are a member of the sponge family and absorb water, when you first get them out of their shells some may look quite small after an hour or longer in salted water their size can increase quite considerably depending how long they have been out of seawater.
Save the domed half of the shell and clean thoroughly.
Place the scallop and coral in the domed half of the shell lightly seasoned, a splash of dry white wine, a small knob of garlic butter and place under the grill until the butter has melted. Remove from the grill splash some single cream over the scallop a light sprinkling of grated cheddar and lightly top with some breadcrumbs, place back under the grill until the cheese melts and the breadcrumbs brown, probably about two minutes.
Serve on a large oval plate for a main course decorated with six slices of lemon and sprigs of parsley, they look magnificent and taste delightful.
If you use shelled fresh or frozen scallops and you do not have the shells, a large gratin dish will serve equally as well.
You can buy porcelain scallop shells which are also ideal for the job, but using the domed half of the shells gives a terrific customer appeal.
Your fishmonger normally has a pile of domed scallop shells.