A Basque kitchen classic with Galician product. The Bilbao sauce — garlic, chilli and extra virgin olive oil — enhances without masking the nobility of the bivalve.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 500 g Salimar half-shell IQF queen scallops
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 dried chilli
- 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt
- Fresh parsley to taste
Method
1. Defrost the queen scallops
Remove the queen scallops from the freezer and defrost in the fridge for 8 hours, or under cold running water for 30 minutes. Do not use a microwave — they lose texture.
2. Make the Bilbao sauce
In a wide pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Thinly slice the garlic and add to the cold oil — starting cold gives better control over browning. When the garlic begins to turn golden (2-3 minutes), add the chilli, split in half. Remove from heat when the garlic is pale gold.
3. Cook the queen scallops
Pat the queen scallops dry with kitchen paper. Heat a cast iron griddle or pan over very high heat. Place the queen scallops shell-side down. Cook for 2 minutes without moving them. Pour the garlic oil over the scallops while still on the griddle. 30 seconds more. Remove.
4. Serve
Scatter freshly chopped parsley and flaked sea salt. Serve immediately — queen scallops wait for no one.
Cook's notes
The key to this recipe is temperature: very hot griddle to sear, warm garlic oil to perfume. If the griddle is not smoking when you place the queen scallop, it is not hot enough. The cooking time is short — an overcooked queen scallop loses the nacreous texture that makes it special.