Scallops with Leek ‘Noodles’ in White Wine Sauce
Scallops with Leek Noodles in White Wine Sauce
Another way to take advantage of the vegetable noodle trend, by transforming leeks into noodles. Top with seared scallops for a well rounded meal!
Ingredients
- 1 lb sea scallops
- 1 TBSP butter
- 1 TBSP shallots
- 2 large leeks, white parts only, sliced lengthwise into thin noodles (see photo below)
- 3 large white button mushrooms, chopped finely
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 TBSP mascarpone
- Salt and pepper
- 1 TBSP olive oil
Directions
- Step 1 In a large skillet, melt butter over low heat. Add the shallots and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Step 2 Add the chopped mushrooms, along with the leeks. Then add the white wine sauce and season the contents of the skillet with salt and pepper.
- Step 3 Allow the leeks to simmer in the sauce and cook until they are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in the mascarpone, remove from the heat and keep warm while you prepare the scallops.
- Step 4 In another large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Season one side of scallops on a plate with salt and pepper. Place the scallops seasoned side down in the skillet in a single layer, clockwise around the pan and cook about 1 minute, 30 seconds.
- Step 5 While cooking, season the unseasoned side of the scallops (facing up) with salt and pepper. After 90 seconds, flip the scallops and cook for an additional 90 seconds. (The cooking time is so fast that the Alexa timer function really comes in handy here!)
- Step 6 Remove scallops and set aside while you plate. Divide leek noodles between 2 plates. Top with scallops and serve immediately.
This recipe is a perfect example of why on some nights, we love to wing it. You just never know what you’ll learn and discover along the way. Here is our story of how the “loodle” came to be:
It all started innocently enough, at the local indoor farmers market one day, where we kicked off the cold winter morning by purchasing four beautiful long stalks of leeks, a few shallots and a pound of luscious scallops from our favorite fishmonger, Pura Vida Fisheries from Hampton Bays, NY. We didn’t really purchase these items with a vision in mind, or even a plan to even use them together, but they struck our fancy so we added them to the bag.
Later that night, as we scratched our heads and wondered what to pair with our scallops, we remembered those leeks we’d purchased and realized they could actually be a perfect pairing. After I cleaned off the leeks, I transferred them to the cutting board to cut. I had no sooner taken my first lengthwise cut (see below) that Marc exclaimed, “Wait, why are you cutting them that way? Shouldn’t we be cutting them into rounds?” Pausing here for dramatic effect…
I couldn’t really explain why I had cut them in half lengthwise but somehow I talked him into trusting my gut and as we talked through it, the vision of the leek noodle popped into my head. I know from cooking past leek dishes, they will become soft and silky after you sauté them, so I suddenly realized that we could use these long ribbons of leeks and create a bed of noodles and then rest the scallops on top. Marc was 100% on board with that and suggested we add some chopped mushrooms to the mix for added flavor. And thus, this dish was born! 15 minutes later we had a beautiful bed of loodles!
And then we went step further and topped them with a handful of perfectly golden seared scallops! But really, loodles can be a good base for almost any seafood protein, chicken too! Or you can enjoy them solo as a great vegetarian option as well.
While we can’t take credit for inventing the “leek noodle” persay, I am fairly confident that we did invent a new culinary term – I’ve searched high and low and nowhere do I see a reference to the “loodle” anywhere. The zoodle on the other hand, has been enjoying an extended heyday, but I think it’s high time the loodle gets some recognition. You don’t even need to buy any fancy gadgets to make the loodle, all you need is a knife. (I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve had a zoodler for 2+ years now and never once used it!). It’s easy, it’s healthy, and the loodle pairs well with a range of seafood or poultry. We’ll be sure to feature the loodle again soon, but let us know what other iterations you come up with too!
