• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recipe Index
  • About Le Chef’s Wife
  • Contact

Le Chef's Wife logo

  • Start Here
  • Cooking in French
  • Riviera Recipes
  • Baking
  • Family Meals
  • Entertaining

February 12, 2021

Seared Scallops and Leeks in White Wine Recipe

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
Sea Scallops
Beautiful Diver Scallops

Noix de St. Jaques poêlées Sifflés de Poireaux au Vin Blanc

Pan Seared Diver Scallops and Leeks in White Wine make for a delicious and elegant French-inspired appetizer. The sweet, buttery taste of the scallops pairs beautifully with the slight tang of leeks. This dish is super simple to make and yet is impressive to serve. Le Chef had this dish on his menu in the South of France years ago and I was so happy to learn to make it with him at home.

Scallops can be intimidating but they are much easier to cook than you think. If the fish counter at your local fine grocery carries fresh scallops, c’est magnifique! Depending on where you live, frozen scallops can be easier to come by and will taste beautifully if you allow them to fully defrost in the fridge.

Chef's scallops
Carrot fans for garnish. You can use parsley too.

Le Chef’s Tips:

  • Pat the scallops down with a paper towel before cooking to get a good sear on the scallop.
  • Let the olive oil get hot before adding the scallops for that nice brown sear
  • Washing leeks can be a little tricky, remove the first few layers of the leek, chop off the ends and the tough, dark green parts before rinsing under running water.
  • Scallops are best when they are not over cooked. They should look pearly white inside.
searing the leeks
Leek Rounds or Sifflés in French

Equipment Needed:

  • A good non stick Frying Pan. I use this All clad pan every. single. day.
  • Kitchen Tongs are very useful for skillfully flipping the leeks over. Le Chef taught me to always use tongs.
searing the scallops
Searing the scallops in the same pan with the leek and white wine remnants for flavor

This recipe is delicious on it’s own as a light meal or when served as an elegant starter .

I personally love scallops, even more than crab or lobster to be honest. Have you tried cooking scallops at home? I hope you will give them a try, they are easier than you think!

Au plaisir,

Le Chef’s Wife

scallops with leeks

Seared Scallops and Leeks in White Wine Recipe:

Print
clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon facebook facebook icon print print icon squares squares icon
Chef's scallops

Seared Scallops and Leeks in White Wine Recipe

  • Author: lechefswife
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 16
  • Total Time: 21 minutes
  • Yield: 2 portions 1x
  • Category: starters
  • Cuisine: French
Print
Pin

Description

Pan Seared Scallops and Leeks in White Wine make for a delicious French-inspired appetizer. The buttery taste of the scallops pairs beautifully with the slight tang of leeks. This dish is super simple to make and yet is impressive to serve.


Scale

Ingredients

4 Diver scallops (the ones I used are 1.5 inches in diameter). If you are using smaller scallops you can use more.

2 Leeks

2 pinches of Sel de Camargue or rock salt 

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of white wine


Instructions

Rinse your scallops and dry with a paper towel

Cut the bottoms and the tough green tops off the leeks. Peel off the outer layers to remove most of the dirt.

Rinse leeks and cut into thick rounds (about 2 inches). 

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot (you can test by touching a piece of leek to the oil, if it starts to sputter a little, it is hot enough).

Using a pair of cooking tongs, place leeks on the frying pan, cut side down. 

Sprinkle with some salt.

Cook for 3 minutes, allowing the leeks to brown before adding 2 tablespoons of white wine to deglaze the pan. let simmer for 1 minute then turn the leeks over to the other cut side.

Simmer for an additional 4 minutes. Remove from from the pan.

Check your pan temperature. If the pan is too hot, lower the heat slightly.

Using the same frying pan, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. 

Now place the scallops in the pan, getting a nice, dark sear on the bottom. After 4 minutes flip over to the other side and sear for an additional 4 minutes.

Remove Scallops from the pan and plate with the leeks.

Sprinkle a little salt on the scallops.

Bon Appétit!


Notes

Drying your scallops before frying them creates for a nice, brown sear.

Sel de Camargue can be substituted with of sea salt if needed

White Wine can be substituted with vermouth, pastis or Champagne if that is what you have open!

 

Keywords: scallops, leeks, romantic dinner, date night meal, French cuisine

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @lechefswife on Instagram

Filed Under: Entertaining, Food, Recipes, Starters Tagged With: french food, french wine, leeks, scallops, seared scallops, white wine

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Le Chef's Wife

Bonjour! My name is Anina Belle. I am a Canadian/American working mom who went on a study exchange to the South of France in my early twenties and fell in love with a French Chef. We were married in Nice and now live in Washington, DC with our toddler daughter with another baby on the way! Our time in France gave me a deep appreciation for French food and the French joie de vivre. Read More

Follow Me On

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
https://lechefswife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02-La-madrague.m4a

Footer

My Favorites

Healthy Freezer meal batch cooking
Les Amoureux

Search

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

lechefswife

lechefswife
I had so much fun cooking for @an_organized_life ‘s friends today! So many great questions and comments. I even convinced @lechefsebastien to join me for an impromptu Q&A 🧑‍🍳 Thank you, Lauren, for this opportunity to share what I love with your friends. ❤️❤️ #instagramtakeover #frenchcooking #frenchfood #foodblogger #grateful
The hidden secret underneath a cutting board that The hidden secret underneath a cutting board that doesn’t move. Such a simple adjustment that makes chopping your « mise en place » so much easier! #cheftips #cookinghacks #cookinginfrench #cookingtips
Anyone else feel like this after our first sunny d Anyone else feel like this after our first sunny day in seemingly forever? Bring on the 🌞 #donewithwinter #cantwaittotravelagain #cotedazur
The #1 professional cooking tip I learned from @le The #1 professional cooking tip I learned from @lechefsebastien that makes me a better home cook. “La mise en place” is the act of preparing all of your ingredients in advance, ready to cook, before you turn on the heat. When there are multiple distractions (children, dogs, life...) cooking is much more pleasurable when you are not worried about burning the onions because you forgot to cut the carrots...n’est ce pas? #cookinginfrench #miseenplace #cookingtips #homecooking #chefstips
Bite-sized lessons in French cooking and language Bite-sized lessons in French cooking and language by @lechefsebastien and I, coming your way! Keep an eye out for this graphic on both of our accounts for translations of French cooking terms, basic French recipes and random culinary savoir-faire (know-how). Allez les amis, on y va?! (Let’s go friends, shall we?!) #cookinginfrench #learnfrench #frenchwords #francophile #frenchcooking #speakfrench
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 Le Chef's Wife on the Brunch Pro Theme