By Melissa Clark
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- 5(516)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Sorrel is a wonderfully pungent, tart spring green that takes well to rich and sweet ingredients. Here, it’s melted into a garlicky, buttery pan sauce and served with seared scallops. One thing to note: as sorrel cooks, it dims from bright green to olive drab in color. But a garnish of chives – with the chive blossoms if you can get them – will perk things up considerably. If you can’t find sorrel, you can make this dish with watercress or spinach, though you may need to add a squirt of lemon juice at the end to balance the flavors.
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Ingredients
Yield:2 to 4 servings
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1pound sea scallops, patted dry
- Kosher salt and black pepper, as needed
- 1garlic clove, minced
- 1tablespoon dry white vermouth or white wine
- 4ounces sorrel (about 3 cups loosely packed), stems removed
- 2tablespoons chopped chives
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
173 calories; 9 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 468 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Preparation
Step
1
Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in skillet. Season scallops with salt and pepper; place in pan in a single layer. Cook without moving until bottoms are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Do not turn. Transfer scallops to a plate.
Step
2
Return pan to medium heat. Add garlic and cook 10 seconds. Stir in vermouth and scrape up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the sorrel; season lightly with salt and pepper.
Step
3
Return scallops to pan, seared side up. Continue cooking until sorrel is a dark olive green and falling apart and scallops are just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle in chives and serve.
Ratings
5
out of 5
516
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Cooking Notes
Bill
In what seems to be a deviation from the norm, I prepared the recipe exactly as you see it here. It was absolutely delicious!
Thanks!
Gary
Outstanding dish and easy to prepare also. We have sorrel in the garden and it's available pretty much year-round here (Oregon). The only thing I would change is to sear the scallops on both sides before adding the garlic, sorrel and wine, and then add the scallops back at the end. The sorrel in the pan makes it hard to completely sear the scallops on the other side.
Pat Brownlie
Could not find sorrel on one of the days I made this so I used watercress. It was fine with the watercress.
Sarah
Lovely recipe - thank you! For gardeners, sorrel is so easy to grow from just a packet of seeds. And it's perennial, so you'll have it coming back every spring. But it can be used throughout the season by cutting it back once it starts to flower. Hence my cooking this delicious recipe in October, with freshly harvested sorrel. 😊
JLM
Call me crazy but I made this with bay scallops, basil and the juice of a half lemon. We literally licked our plates, it was so good.
Jane
"Searing Scallops, Skip the FlipSalmon isn’t the only seafood that benefits from cooking on one side only; so do sea scallops. Heat a pan until wickedly hot. Add a slick of oil, then your well-dried sea scallops (make sure they’re not touching one another). Cook for two minutes, add some butter to the pan, letting it melt. Baste the scallops until the tops firm up and turn less translucent, one to three more minutes. You can add other seasonings to the butter (garlic..)." Melissa Clark 10MAY23
Alan
My wife is allergic to shellfish so after making this when she was traveling I made it this time with rockfish. Worked like a charm.
Anne Rabe
Really delicious. Added a bit more garlic and used a spicy greens mix with spinach, baby chard and arugula because I couldn't find sorrel. Wilted this well before re-adding the scallops to finish cooking. Served over buttery basmati rice (so didn't add the extra butter to the scallops at the end of cooking). A good splash of Meyer lemon juice was perfect.
PS Geo
Added shallots and doubled garlic. Followed the recipe watching not to overcook scallops which are a bit pricey on the west coast. Squirt lemon at the end. Excellent dish.
Betsy
With scallops $40/lb at the fishmonger, I made a last-minute switch to soft-shell crab, which also seemed in the spring spirit. Delicious!
EAD
Just found this and it solved my need for a quick scallop dish. I appreciate that even for simple recipes, Melissa makes videos. So helpful. I used spinach and thus added lemon juice as she recommended, and one very large garlic clove. Delicious. A keeper!
corleoja.
Don’t have sorrel. I used spinach. It was delicious. Another masterpiece from Melissa Clark
JLM
Call me crazy but I made this with bay scallops, basil and the juice of a half lemon. We literally licked our plates, it was so good.
Amy
Loved this recipe. Wish I could easily locate the sorrel, but watercress did nicely since it was not available. Very delicious! Great to have a video of the preparation too.
Patty
I used power greens instead of sorrel - but should have added far more than 3 or 4 cups of raw greens. I used 3 or 4 tablespoons Port, more than suggested, and it was perfect. I layered the greens and scallops on top of garlic couscous. Delicious!!
lesnyc
Not wanting to be a sorrel loser, I made this with baby spinach -- followed everything else to the letter and it is sublime with jasmine rice. And it is really fast and easy.
nicole
The sorrel is so good next time am adding more .
michaela
Got some sorrel in our CSA box and had never tried it before, and this application sounded delicious. Used shrimp instead of scallops because that’s what we had on hand. We loved the butter sauce and were pleasantly surprised by just how much the sorrel brightened it up, as if we had squeezed some lemon juice in it. Will definitely use this recipe again the next time we come across sorrel!
JWLusk
When using frozen scallops do I thaw them first or just plop them into a hot pan?
lesnyc
I let them thaw in the refrigerator so they're cold when time to cook - avoids overcooking. Also, dry them completely on a paper towel before cooking.
Patty G.
It tasted fine and was certainly easy to make but eye appeal was a thumbs down. The sorrel turns a very drab olive green.
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