Seared Scallops with Butternut Squash and Hazelnuts

It’s officially butternut squash season, so when my farmers market had some I knew I had to use some in a recipe. I decided to make a Seared Scallops with a Butternut Squash Purée topped with Butter Basted Hazelnuts. I hope you enjoy!

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What you’ll need!

1/2-1lb fresh scallops
1 butternut squash
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
Olive oil
1 tbsp honey
Salt +pepper
Edible flowers and/or Thyme (garnish)

THEN;

Butternut Squash Puree

1.Preheat oven to 375 °F

2.Cut butternut squash in half and remove the seeds from inside.

3.On a baking sheet or pan, drizzle inside of squash with olive oil and season with salt + pepper. Flip squash over and bake flesh side down until cooked all the way through, about an hour

4.Scoop out cooked squash with a spoon and transfer to a blender or food processor and pour in milk, honey, and 1tsp salt

5.Blend until smooth and scoop 2-3 spoonfuls onto each serving plate.

Seared Scallops

1.Preheat a pan or skillet over medium-high heat

2.Pat scallops dry with a paper towel, season both sides with salt and pepper

3.When the pan is hot, coat the pan with olive oil and place in your scallops

spacing them apart.

4.Cook scallops on one side for 2 minutes, don’t disturb them while cooking

5.Using tongs, flip scallops and 2 tbsp of butter to the pan. Baste scallops with butter and cook for 1 minute and place over butternut squash.

Hazelnuts

1.Slightly Crush hazelnuts in a mortar and pestle or coarsely chop nuts.

2.Transfer nuts to a clean kitchen towel and rub off excess dust or skin.

3.Add hazelnuts to the buttered scallop pan and cook until hazelnuts are coated with butter( 1-2 minutes).

4.Remove pan from heat and scoop over the scallops and butternut squash purée.

5.Top with thyme and/or edible flowers for garnish

Watch the full recipe video here!