Pan-fried Scallops with Spiced Herby Butter

By Lucy Parissi

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, Updated May 21, 2025

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You only need a handful of ingredients to make these amazing pan-fried scallops! Serve with the spiced herby butter sauce on their half shell and prepare to impress.

I adore scallops but don’t often make them at home. Not sure why since they are extremely easy to cook, delicious and perfect for entertaining.

They can be quite expensive so I usually serve scallops as a starter – they are perfect for a romantic dinner…

If you buy these scallops at a fishmonger, ask them if they can give you their shells to use as a little serving plate.

These scallops can go from pan to dinner table in a matter of minutes. The spiced butter makes a delicious sauce equally quickly and tastes amazing. Mop up any juices with bread and lick your fingers surreptitiously afterwards!

BTW don’t throw the shells away after you finish with the scallops. Wash and keep them for serving canapés or use them in the garden as decorative mulching.

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Scallops with Spiced Butter Sauce

By Lucy Parissi | Supergolden Bakes

Prepare to impress with these quick and easy scallops served with spiced butter sauce.

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 -6

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Ingredients

• ▢ 12 large scallops , with shells if possible
• ▢ 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• ▢ Salt and freshly ground pepper

Spiced Butter Sauce

• ▢ 125 g | 4.4oz unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 chilli , deseeded and finely chopped
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic , minced in a garlic press
• ▢ ½ small bunch coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
• ▢ Juice of 1/2 lime
• ▢ Salt and freshly ground pepper
• ▢ Limes , quartered to serve

Instructions 

• Prepare the sauce. Add the butter in a small saucepan and heat until it melts.
• Add the chopped chilli, garlic and coriander and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Take off the heat, add the lime juice and season to taste. Set aside.
• Season the scallops with salt and pepper.
• If you have the shells, then wash and dry them and then place on a tray in a warm oven to use them for serving the scallops.
• Heat the butter in pan until it starts to foam.
• Add the scallops, in batches if necessary, and sear for a couple of minutes on each side.
• Place the scallops on the shells using tongs.
• Spoon about a tablespoon of the sauce over each one and season.
• Serve hot with some quartered limes on the side.

Notes

Notes: the coriander can be replaced with parsley and lime with lemon if you prefer.

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