Pan Seared Scallops with Garlic White Wine sauce and Lemon Orzo

Photo by Katie Kay

My inspiration was this recipe from TheKitchn.com, but the Beurre Blanc sauce did NOT work out.  The white wine vinegar and white wine never thickened up and ended up evaporating almost completely.  There was no way I could have added cream or a stick and a half of butter to it.  There simply wasn't enough liquid.  With the softened shallots, there was only about 1 Tbsp of thin liquid left in the pan.
I mentally adjusted my plan and added 3 Tbsp butter to the shallots and residual liquid.  When it melted, I added about 1/2 cup white wine.  As it warmed back up, I pressed 2 (okay, who am I kidding--it was 5) large cloves of garlic into the pan, added 2 tsp dried parsley, and when it was at a good simmer, I added 1 Tbsp heavy cream.  I set it aside on the lowest simmer possible while I prepared the scallops.
I was completely unfamiliar with Wondra flour which was used in TheKitchn.com's recipe.  It was a very fine, non-dusty flour that almost felt like a very fine corn meal.  I really liked the way it coated the scallops.  I thought it gave them a very fine, crispy coating without the gummyness that sometimes comes with a regular flour coating.  They also stayed on the scallop and didn't come off on the pan when I flipped them.  They also browned nicely fairly quickly, which is a good thing with scallops because they cook in such a short amount of time.  
We also drizzled the extra garlic sauce on the lemon orzo, and it was fabulous.
Pan Seared Scallops with Garlic White Wine sauce and Lemon Orzo
Scallop topping: 1 large shallot, diced 3 Tbsp butter 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar 1/2 cup dry white wine 2-5 cloves of fresh garlic, minced or pressed 2 tsp dried parsley 1 Tbsp heavy cream (can be omitted)
Lemon Orzo 1 small bag of orzo Zest and juice from 1 lemon 3 chives, chopped
Scallops: 4 Tbsp butter 12 jumbo scallops Wondra flour salt & pepper
Start pot of water to boil for orzo.  To prepare scallop topping, melt butter in a small saucepan.  Add shallots and vinegar.  Cook at high heat until soft, then add white wine.  Lower heat to medium as you add garlic and parsley.  Stir, then lower heat to simmer and add cream.  
When orzo water is boiling, add orzo to pot.  Zest lemon and chop chives, and set aside until orzo is ready.  When orzo is ready, add zest, juice and chives to drained orzo and stir.
Meanwhile, to prepare scallops, heat cast iron skillet with butter.  Rinse scallops and place on a paper towel to absorb extra moisture.  Season tops of scallops with salt and pepper, then using a spoon or fingers, drizzle Wondra flour on tops.  When butter is melted and pan is hot, add scallops to pan flour-side down.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until bottom edges start to brown.  Do not move them at all during this time!  Season raw tops with salt, pepper, and sprinkle Wondra flour again.  Flip scallops over, and cook until brown, or 2 minutes.
Serve scallops immediately next to orzo, and sprinkle the whole plate with your delicious garlic wine sauce.
Enjoy!