Scallops Casino!

Back in February I had an unusual comment left by someone who goes by the name Superior. It was a request for a recipe called “Scallops Casino”. Truthfully I had never heard of such a dish until that very moment. Now, I grew up in Jersey near the shore so of course I had heard of “Clams Casino” just never this how-do-you-say “Scallops Casino”. Well anyway, I decided it would be fun to take on this challenge…Bring it on! I think is what I said. Off I went (completely intrigued) to hammer through some online recipes to find one I could bastardize. Well much to my dismay there was Nada. Zip. Zilch. Homey was NOT playin’… I had done a google search and found about 83 pages of pure crap-ay-dium. Can you believe that I went through and clicked on every link on every single page of the 83 pages of results? Um yah I did. how-do-you-say looo-sah?! Sure I wanted to rip my eyes out and never touch my laptop again, but I suffered through it all and am a better chef for it (or simply just crazier). Sadly, after all of that I only mananged to dig up a handful of varying menu descriptions and only ONE (I repeat ONE) recipe! I gotta tell you though, that one recipe I found scared me to death. I don’t want to get too into it, but the star ingredient of this “recipe” was a can of s h r i m p s o u p. Blech!!! (That’s just wrong!) So after wasting all of that precious time, I decided to just go with my original vision. Off to kitchen stadium I went with my scribbly notes in hand to Chef if the hell up!

Listen up, yos: For now, use this recipe as a guide and “taste-as-you-go”. Make adjustments as your taste buds see fit. Being it is the first time I made this recipe guys, I have not had a chance to work out all of the lovely little kinks for you - so stay sharp and focused!

Now, in the words of the famous Atlantic City, NJ ring announcer Michael Buffer, “Let’s get ready to RUMMMMMBLE!!”

Scallops Casino

• ½ lb. sea scallops (use large fresh scallops if you can)
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 1 large clove of fresh garlic, minced
• ½ medium shallot, minced
• 2 slices of bacon, cut into quarters
• 1 tablespoon of roasted red peppers (jarred or fresh), chopped
• ¼ cup of dry white wine or vermouth
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons of chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon of grated Asiago cheese (can substitute for Parmesan)
• ½ cup plain breadcrumbs (homemade preferred)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (I use my little toaster/convection oven).

In a medium skillet cook bacon until it turns a light golden color. Remove bacon from pan and drain; keep about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the skillet and discard the rest. After bacon cools, chop it up and set it aside for later use in the sauce. While the pan is still hot, add the scallops and pan sear about 1 ½ - 2 ½ minutes on each side so they are a nice golden brown. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl combine bread crumbs, Asiago cheese, olive oil, parsley and thyme until well mixed.

Wipe the grease out of the pan (using a paper towel) and return it to the burner. Add a tablespoon of butter and sauté shallots, onion, garlic, bacon and red pepper. Sauté over medium heat for approximately 2-3 minutes (until onion turns translucent). Add white wine cook it down until it reduces to only a small amount of liquid left in the pan. Add lemon juice and chicken broth and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add a tablespoon of butter (bread crumbs work too) to tighten up the sauce just a little. Taste it and season with salt and pepper accordingly.

Add scallops into the pan and baste with sauce. Push scallops close together in the pan and top with breadcrumb mixture. Bake in oven for about 5 or 6 minutes (making sure scallops are cooked thoroughly but not overcooked) and then turn up your oven to broil. Broil scallops until the breadcrumbs turn a nice dark golden brown. If you want to you can squeeze lemon over the top of your scallops casino before you serve them or you can simply serve extra lemon wedges on the side.

(click on images to enlarge)

Methane Meter boasts:

Download or print recipe here:
Scallops Casino Recipe (PDF 23.4 kb)