Seared Sea Scallops with Green Grapes

1. Prepare all of your ingredients. Cube butter, pick thyme leaves, pick/stem grapes, drain capers, slice almonds (if needed), and remove abductor muscle from scallops (if not already done for you).
2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (you will only need it for a few minutes to finish cooking the scallops). You will also need 2 medium sauté pans (one of which is oven safe). If you do not have an oven safe pan, grab a small cookie sheet/sheet tray as well.
3. Lightly season one side of the scallops with a little salt and pepper. Place oven safe sauté pan over medium heat. Once pan is hot, add a small amount of olive oil to the pan. Once oil is hot, place scallops in pan, seasoned side down. Allow the scallops to cook for 2-3 minutes, or until you begin to see some browning around the edges. Make sure the scallops are not touching and evenly space in the pan. Once you have achieved some good caramelization and browning, flip scallops over and place in oven safe sauté pan, in the oven for 3-4 additional minutes, until cooked through. Remove and hold warm/allow resting while making sauce.
4. For the sauce, place second sauté pan on medium heat. Once pan is hot, add almond slivers and toast for 30 seconds. Once almonds become aromatic add capers, and deglaze with your choice of water, wine, or caper juice (you only need a couple ounces worth). Once the liquid has almost evaporated, add grapes and sauté for an additional minute. Turn heat down to low and begin to “mount” your sauce with butter. Start adding butter to the sauté pan a few cubes at a time, vigorously shaking and/or moving the pan back and forth as you go through the butter. It should begin to melt and create a viscous butter sauce^. Once all butter is melted and mounted, remove the pan from the flame.
5. Time to plate your dish. Place two scallops on each plate and cover with two generous spoonful of sauce, making sure to include the grapes, almonds, and capers. Sprinkle your fresh picked thyme leaves over the top and enjoy!

*Water, white wine, or caper juice is needed to deglaze your sauté pan. 2 to 3 ounces of whichever you choose should suffice. Water, won’t impart any flavor, white wine will add some acidity, and if you choose to use caper juice just be careful because it will impart acidity and salt.

If you want to make sure your butter sauce does not “break” or separate, you can add a couple of ounces of heavy cream to the pan, before starting to add the butter.

Other Notes/Comments:

Preferences are to buy skin-on-almonds whole, and chop or sliver them. Pre-sliced store bought almonds tend to be bland or often stale. Plus the rusticity of hand chopping them adds to the look of the dish.

This can be served with a wide arrange of sides, such as roasted potatoes, asparagus, or wild rice.