Scallops With Potato Pancakes and Caviar Sauce Recipe

One of the best things about the end of summer and the transition to fall is the re-emergence of warm comfort dishes. From soups and warm sandwiches to pasta and roasted vegetables, there's so much to look forward to as the summer days wind down and fall approaches. 

You can use your favorite comfort dishes to create appetizers or meals that are perfect for an event or party. With this recipe, you can dress up potato pancakes with savory scallops and a buttery Champagne caviar sauce. 

This recipe was first featured in one of our recent email newsletters, but it's too good not to share. You can subscribe to our email newsletter on our website if you want to be the first to receive new caviar recipes. 

At Imperia Caviar, we believe everyone deserves to experience the luxury of caviar. That's why we deliver hand-sorted sturgeon eggs sourced from sustainable farms straight to your front door at a fraction of the usual cost. Whether you want to add caviar to the top of your creamy tomato gazpacho or craft this potato pancake recipe, we can provide the quality caviar you crave. 

This delicious scallops and caviar recipe is an excellent way to add some flair to a seafood staple. It works for five portions or 10 appetizers for a party. 

Scallops With Potato Pancakes and Caviar Sauce

Start to finish: 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: 5 portions or 10 appetizers

Gather Your Ingredients

To make this delicious recipe, you'll need the following ingredients:

• Potatoes: The best potatoes for potato pancakes are starchy potatoes, like Russets or Idaho. These potatoes are also low in moisture and great for shredding, baking and mashing.
• Egg: You'll beat the egg with a fork or whisk just until the white and yolk are combined.
• Matzo meal: Matzo meal is a breadcrumb that's essential in making potato pancakes. You can make your own by blending matzo in a food processor until you reach the desired texture.
• Grated onion: White onions can add both sweetness and savoriness 
• Peppercorns: Peppercorn is a dried berry used to create black pepper. We're most familiar with ground black pepper, but for this recipe, you'll want whole peppercorns rather than ground pepper. 
• Thyme sprigs: When you throw thyme sprigs into your saucepan, you'll keep the leaves and stem intact. The leaves will fall off, and you can retrieve the stem when you strain the sauce. 
• Bay leaf: As with thyme sprigs, you will remove the bay leaf from the recipe when you strain the sauce. Bay leaves have a distinctive flavor and fragrance, which can add a lot to cooking. 
• Shallot: Shallots are kind of like onions with a more subtle, delicate and sweet flavor. 
• Fresh lemon juice: Lemons are packed with nutrients, and even a little lemon juice adds citrus flavor to your dish. 
• Créme fraîche: Créme fraîche is heavy cream that is thickened and slightly soured with buttermilk. It's often used on fruit, but in this recipe, we'll use it to thicken the scallops and caviar sauce. 
• Butter: For this recipe, you'll want to cut your butter into tablespoons and leave it out to soften for later use. 
• Chives: Chives can add a kick to your favorite recipes. Sprinkle chives on top of your scallops and caviar sauce for an extra boost of flavor.
• Scallops: Scallops are a seafood favorite, and their buttery flavor complements this recipe well. 
• Champagne: There are a few different considerations for choosing the best Champagne to cook with, including sweetness and price point. A sweeter variety can complement savory dishes like this one. 
• Caviar: Caviar is crucial to this dish, even though you'll only be using 1 ounce. Purchase high-quality caviar from Imperia Caviar to take the caviar sauce to the next level. 

Now that we know more about our ingredients, let's get into the recipe. 

Potato Pancake Ingredients

Here's what you will need to make the potato pancakes:

• 1 pound baking potatoes, peeled
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• ¼ cup matzo meal
• ¼ cup grated onion
• Salt
• Vegetable oil

Scallops and Caviar Sauce Ingredients

You'll need the following ingredients to make the scallops and caviar sauce:

• 1 ½ cups Champagne
• 9 black peppercorns
• 3 thyme springs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 
• 1 ½ tablespoon créme fraîche
• 1 ½ sticks or 6 ounces of cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
• 1 ounce Imperia Caviar
• Salt
• 20 medium sea scallops, or 1 pound
• 2 tablespoons minced chives

Make the Potato Pancakes 

1. Shred the potatoes, squeezing out excess liquid, and place them in a bowl.
2. Add the remainder of the ingredients — matzo meal, egg, onion and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
3. Once combined, take chunks of the mixture and shape them into 20 cakes, keeping them around ½-inch thick, about the size of scallops. Press down on the cakes to compress them.
4. Heat ¼-inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Fry a few pancakes at a time over moderately high heat. Heat for about 3 minutes on each side until the potatoes are crisp.
5. Once brown, place the pancakes on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
6. (Optional) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit to reheat the pancakes later. 

Make the Caviar Sauce and Scallops 

1. Pour the Champagne into a small saucepan. Add the bay leaf, peppercorns, shallot, thyme sprigs and lemon juice. Boil over high heat until reduced to 1 tablespoon, about 15 minutes.
2. Using a strainer, pour the sauce into another small saucepan. Bring the pan to moderate heat, and stir in the créme fraîche. Bring to a simmer.
3. Remove from the heat. Stir in the softened butter, 1 tablespoon at a time.
4. Add 1 ounce of Imperia Caviar and season lightly with salt. Cover the caviar butter sauce.
5. Grab a new skillet, and heat another ¼ inch of oil. Season the scallops with salt before adding half to the skillet. 
6. Cook the scallops over high heat until richly browned, about 1 ½ minutes per side.
7. Place the scallops on a plate and keep them warm while you cook the other scallops.
8. Arrange the potato pancakes on a platter. Place a scallop on top of each one.
9. Add the chives to the sauce.
10. Spoon the sauce over top of the scallops. 

Enjoy and Serve!

And there you have it! Whether you're serving this scallops with caviar recipe as a meal or an appetizer at your next get-together, it's sure to be a hit with guests. Make sure to have this recipe on hand for when people ask how you made it! If you serve it as an appetizer, explore some other accompaniments for your caviar. 

When you make this recipe, remember that scallops are best enjoyed as soon as they're cooked, so please eat them while the dish is still warm. Enjoying it while it's warm is the best way to enjoy the dish anyway!

High-Quality Caviar Can Take Your Dish to the Next Level

When you buy caviar online from Imperia Caviar, it's easier than ever to enjoy its delicious flavors and health benefits. Our caviar can make your scallops and caviar even better. Order caviar online today to taste the difference.