Which sauce is suitable for scallops. Recipes of delicious sauces and marinades for scallops.

Let’s look at how to make sauces and marinades for scallops at home. We’ll give you recipes for fresh, baked, fried and grilled scallops.

What does scallop taste like?

To choose a sauce for scallops, you need to know their taste. And it can be said to be neutral, similar to squid and crab and vaguely reminiscent of shrimp. There are also creamy notes with a slight sweetish aftertaste.

And of course, there is a sea taste; after all, they are salted due to salt water. And by the way, they are thereby disinfected.

Therefore, you should not make sauces that are too strong or spicy. You just need to complement the taste of the scallop. To emphasize its tenderness, but for this the main thing is to prepare it correctly.

How to cook properly

Before you make the sauce for the scallops, you need to cook them properly. After all, the main thing is that the scallops do not become rubbery after cooking. To do this, you can fry, boil or bake them, but first defrost them.

Don’t worry about defrosting scallops quickly. They don’t need any extra heat treatment. Leave them in the refrigerator overnight, it is better to put them in a sieve to drain excess water.

Now about how to properly and how long to fry scallops in a frying pan:

• they should be warm, at least at room temperature;
• dried with a napkin;
• fry in butter in a very hot frying pan for no more than half a minute on each side.

The most important thing is not to overcook the scallop fillet in time and then you will get a tasty product.

The second option is how and how long to cook scallops. Fresh ones should not be cooked for more than three minutes. And it’s better to throw them into boiling salted water, rinsing them with water before doing so.

Frozen scallops are first defrosted, then washed and cooked according to the same principle as fresh ones. But it is better to prepare the sauce in advance.

Creamy sauce for baked scallops

Creamy sauce for scallops is one of the most popular. You can easily prepare it at home just like in a restaurant. We’ll start with a recipe for baking in the oven.

Ingredients of sauce for 0.5 kg. scallops:

• cream 35% – 100 ml;
• hard cheese – 100 gr.;
• dry white wine – 2 tbsp. l.; 
• thyme – 0.5 tsp. l.; 
• garlic – 1 clove;
• lemon peel – 1/4 tsp. 
• lemon juice – 1 tbsp. l.;
• butter – 1 tsp;
• salt, pepper to taste.

How to prepare the sauce:

1. Pour cream, wine and lemon juice into a bowl.
2. Add thyme, lemon zest, grated garlic and 2/3 of the cheese.
3. Salt and pepper to taste and add scallops.
4. Grease a baking dish with butter and place our scallops and sauce in it.
5. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and place in an oven preheated to 200°C for 3-4 minutes.

The dish turns out very tender and juicy. Can be used as creamy sauce for pasta. Add a few saffron stigmas and get an excellent saffron sauce for scallops.

Creamy garlic sauce for fried scallops with cheese

This sauce for scallops also reads like restaurant sauce. But it is prepared easily and quickly and does not require special skills. By the way, it is prepared on the basis of Roux and Béchamel sauces.

You can call it a classic sauce for scallops with garlic and cheese. It is often used as a dip for country-style potatoes.

We will need:

• cream 35% – 100 ml;
• butter – 1 tbsp. l.;
• hard cheese – 100 gr.;
• wheat flour – 1 tsp;
• garlic – 1 clove;
• nutmeg – a pinch;
• salt, pepper to taste.

How to make the sauce:

1. Heat the butter over medium heat and fry the flour in it until a nutty smell appears.
2. Add the cream and whisk in the flour until there are no lumps left.
3. Add grated garlic and cheese and keep stirring.
4. Pepper, add a pinch of nutmeg and add some salt if necessary and you’re done!

All that remains is to add fried scallops to it or pour this sauce over them when serving. You can also use it as dipping sauce and dip scallops in it.

We also advise you to prepare blue cheese sauce for blue cheese lovers.

If you don’t want to fry the scallops separately, add them after the cheese and garlic. But simmer them in the sauce for no more than 3-4 minutes. By the way, you get a delicious cheese sauce that can be used, for example for French fries. Especially if you add Cheddar cheese or mix several varieties, as in cheese fondue.

Sour cream sauce for grilled scallops

For scallops cooked on the grill, the main thing is to prepare the right marinade.

Ingredients of the marinade:

• vegetable oil – 50 ml;
• garlic – 1 clove;
• lemon juice – 1 tbsp. l.;
• salt, pepper to taste.

How to marinate:

1. Pass the garlic through a press or grate it.
2. Mix with oil and lemon juice, add pepper and salt.
3. Coat the scallops thoroughly with it and leave in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Then all you have to do is fry the shellfish on well-hot coals. But no more than one minute on each side.

Now about the sauce; creamy sauce, the recipe for which we wrote above, is also perfect. Let’s consider another one, made from sour cream.

Sauce composition:

• sour cream – 2 tbsp. L.;
• garlic – 1 clove;
• dill – 1/3 bunch;
• salt, pepper to taste.

Recipe:

1. Chop the garlic and dill along with salt (this will allow them to open better and disperse in the sour cream).
2. Mix them with sour cream until smooth.
3. Add salt and pepper and the sour cream sauce for scallops is ready!

It is advisable to let it brew in the refrigerator for at least half an hour. Using the same principle, you can prepare matsoni sauce.

Lemon Sauce for Scallops

This is a very refreshing summer citrus sauce for scallops. In addition, it is very simple and quick to prepare; you can do it yourself in 5 minutes.

Composition:

• juice of one lemon;
• vegetable oil – 1 tbsp. l.;
• garlic – 1 clove;
• parsley – 0.5 bunch;
• salt – a pinch.

Cooking process:

1. Squeeze the garlic through a garlic press.
2. Separate the parsley leaves from the stems and chop them.
3. Mix everything with oil, add lemon juice and add salt.

Don’t serve the sauce right away, let the oil draw out the flavors from the parsley and garlic. Use oil of your choice: olive or vegetable.

The orange sauce is prepared using the same principle. Orange sauce is also excellent with scallops. Although it seems unusual, such as strawberry sauce for oysters.

Mustard-mayonnaise sauce for scallops

This sauce is suitable both as a sauce for scallops and as a marinade. But there is a small nuance that we will talk about after the recipe. By the way, for this recipe you can prepare homemade mayonnaise. And if you are worried about your figure, then make diet mayonnaise .

Composition:

• mayonnaise – 3 tbsp. L.;
• honey – 1 tbsp. L.;
• mustard – 1 tsp;
• vegetable oil – 1 tbsp. l.;
• balsamic vinegar – 1 tsp;
• onion – 1 head;
• salt, pepper to taste.

Recipe:

1. Cut the onion into half rings, add salt and mash a little (you need to get onion juice).
2. Mix mayonnaise, mustard, honey, oil and vinegar.
3. Add onion to them, pepper and add salt.

If you use such a dressing as a marinade, then place the scallop in it and leave it overnight. For the sauce, you can simply chop the onion into small cubes. You can also use Dijon mustard, and add paprika or turmeric for a beautiful color.

The sauce is also suitable for scallops baked on the wing. If you add cheese to it, you can bake scallops in the shell with this sauce.

Yogurt sauce for scallops

This is a light and delicate sauce for lovers of a healthy lifestyle. It is made almost like Greek tzatziki sauce.

What do you need:

• yogurt – 200 ml.;
• fresh cucumber – 1 pc. ;
• dill – 0.5 bunch;
• garlic – 1 clove;
• vegetable oil – 1 tbsp. l.;
• paprika – 1 tsp;
• salt, pepper to taste.

How to cook:

1. Grate the cucumber on a fine grater, place in a colander and squeeze out the liquid.
2. Finely chop the dill and garlic.
3. Mix all ingredients, add salt and pepper, let steep for 20 minutes.

This yogurt sauce is excellent for fried or baked scallops, boiled or grilled.

Marinade dressing for scallops from Konstantin Ivlev

And now the recipe for sauce, marinade or dressing from the chef. Of course, Konstantin loves to cook a dish in his repertoire, with black caviar. But you can use the dressing itself as you wish.

Composition:

• honey – 1 tbsp. L.;
• lemon juice – 1 tbsp. l.;
• soy sauce – 2 tsp;
• water – 2 tbsp. L.;
• olive oil – 2 tbsp. l.

How to cook:

1. It is advisable to melt the honey.
2. Mix it with oil, soy sauce, lemon juice and water.
3. Stir until smooth and done!

It is better to marinate fresh scallops cut into plates with this dressing for 10-20 minutes.

Soy sauce sauce for scallops

We will cook the scallop in soy sauce with garlic directly in the pan. This is very convenient and saves time.

For 200-300 grams of scallop you will need:

• soy sauce – 100 ml;
• vegetable oil – 2 tbsp. l.;
• rosemary – 1 sprig;
• garlic – 1 clove;
• ground pepper to taste.

Recipe:

1. Heat a frying pan with oil, but do not heat it, and put in a sprig of rosemary and crushed garlic.
2. Warm everything up for a couple of minutes, then add the scallops and fry on each side for 20 seconds.
3. Immediately pour in the soy sauce and turn up the heat, evaporate the sauce for about a minute, stirring the scallops, and you’re done.

The main thing is that the garlic and rosemary do not burn, but only give their aromas to the oil. This dish is perfect as a gravy for rice.

Korean scallop sauce

This version of the sauce, which will serve as both a side dish and a salad, is for lovers of Korean cuisine.

Ingredients for 0.5 kg scallop:

• onion – 1 head;
• carrots – 1 pc.;
• bell pepper – 1 pc.;
• cucumber – 1 pc.;
• garlic – 3 cloves;
• rice vinegar – 2 tbsp. l.;
• sugar – 1 tsp. l.;
• vegetable oil – 4 tbsp. l.;
• ground coriander – 1 tsp;
• cayenne pepper – 1 pinch;
• salt – to taste.

How to do:

1. Rinse washed and dried scallops with vinegar and leave to marinate in it while you prepare the vegetables.
2. The carrots can be grated using a Korean carrot grater or cut into strips.
3. Then sprinkle it with salt and sugar, mix and set aside.
4. Cut the pepper, cucumber and onion into approximately equal strips, like carrots.
5. Chop the garlic finely (do not press through a press).
6. Place everything in a bowl so that the onion is on top, with a heap of garlic and ground spices on it.
7. Pour hot vegetable oil on top, mix and add scallops, let it brew a little.

Try it, maybe you don’t have enough sourness, spiciness or sweetness. You can always customize the dish by adding more vinegar, sugar or pepper.