Maple Butter Sea Scallops with Pumpkin Risotto

As a summer baby, fall has always been my second favorite season. If I can’t soak up all of the sun by somebody’s pool or on somebody’s beach, then I’ll gladly take all of the cinnamon, caramel, apple, maple, pumpkin and squash recipes and enjoy them in my cocoon of blankets.

I typically associate sea scallops with spring and summer dishes, but I honestly don’t see why they can’t be paired with some of my favorite fall flavors. I also find that less is more when it comes to good quality scallops. The taste of the scallop should always be the most prominent flavor, so I opted for a simple maple + butter drizzle.

Kitchen things you’ll need: For the risotto, a stockpot or Dutch oven and patience. For the scallops, a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet.

The Tools You’ll Need

• A Medium- or Large-sized Saucepan. To separately warm up the pumpkin purée and broth mixture that will be gradually added to the arborio rice.  Don’t skip this step (see below). 
• Large Saucepan or Dutch Oven. This is what you’ll make the risotto in.  A fairly large saucepan or Dutch oven should give you enough room for the continuous additions of broth. 
• Cast-Iron Skillet. IMO there is no better skillet for searing scallops.  A well-seasoned cast-iron pan will retain the heat and give the scallops an evenly brown sear. 
• Patience. Risotto takes time.  It’s not something can (or should) be rushed. The best risottos are made with lots of broth, stirring, and patience. 

The Pumpkin Risotto

We start by making the risotto because it’ll take about 45 minutes to an hour to finish, and the scallops will take about a quarter of that time.  For the pumpkin risotto, I toasted some fresh sage in olive oil to make crispy sage and set aside.  In the same oil, I sautéed the onions and garlic, deglazed with white wine, added the arborio rice and a warm chicken broth/pumpkin purée mixture (vegetable broth works too) with some fresh thyme and a pinch of nutmeg. You’ll want to continuously add broth every 5 to 7 minutes or so and/or as soon as the rice has soaked up the liquid and stir until the rice is fully cooked and tender.  To top off the risotto, I added lots of freshly grated parmesan and added some toasted sage to the serving bowls.

  

The Maple Butter Scallops

For the scallops, I’ve started searing my scallops in grapeseed oil, which has a higher smoke point than butter and olive oil.  I’ve notice that searing in grapeseed oil seems to make for a slightly lighter color (although this might alos be due to me using fairly newer cast-iron skillet), but still gives an even brown color. After searing the scallops, I set them aside and make a sort of pan sauce.  I say “sort of” because it’s really only three ingredients – butter, maple syrup, and a splash of lemon juice. Very simple and still allows the taste of the scallops to shine.