Scallops Provençal

Total time: 40 minutes
     Tender scallops, quickly sautéed and finished with a tomato, white wine and tarragon sauce.  You can use either the small (bay) scallops or the larger (sea) scallops in this dish. Remember to cook them quickly to retain their tenderness.  Large scallops can be cut in half.  Baking and serving from individual casseroles makes a lovely presentation.

 Ingredients:

• 8oz (240gr) scallops - out of the shell, thawed if frozen
• 4oz (120gr) shrimp (prawns) - peeled  or all scallops
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 2 shallots
• 4oz (120gr) mushrooms
• 1 clove garlic
• 15oz (450gr) whole tomatoes
• 1/4 cup (2oz, 60ml) white wine
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tbs Balsamic vinegar

 Instructions:

• Finely chop the shallot and garlic. 
• Open and drain tomatoes, reserving sauce for another use. Roughly chop tomatoes. 
• Clean and slice mushrooms. 
• Heat 2 tsp oil in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. 
• Add scallops and sauté until light brown and opaque, being careful not to crowd.  They sometimes have a lot of water in them and you want them sautéed, not steamed.  As they brown remove them and put them into 2 individual, shallow casseroles or one larger one. 
• In same pan sauté shrimp until they start to curl and turn opaque.  Put into casseroles with scallops. 
• Add remaining 2 tsp oil to pan along with the shallot, garlic and mushrooms.  Sauté until shallots are tender and starting to brown. 
• Add tomatoes, wine, tomato paste and herbs.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. 
• Add vinegar to sauce and stir. 
• Spoon sauce over scallops and shrimp. 
• Bake at 400F (200C) for 10 minutes, until heated through.  Serve directly from casseroles.  If using individual casseroles place them in a baking sheet for easy handling.