Tuscan Salmon and Scallops in Vodka Cream Sauce: One Skillet Dinner

Seared salmon and sea scallops, glossy rosy vodka cream sauce, and torn fresh basil on top. This Tuscan-style skillet dinner comes together in one cast iron pan, so the sauce that clings to every bite is made in the same skillet where the fish was seared. It is an easy way to serve a special seafood dinner on an ordinary weeknight.

This Tuscan salmon and scallops dinner brings two kinds of seafood together in one cast iron skillet. Thick salmon fillets are seared in butter and olive oil with whole garlic cloves, then sea scallops join the pan and the whole skillet is finished with a tomato and cream sauce. The vodka deglazes the pan and adds a sharp note that balances the richness of the cream.

Grated hard cheese melts into the sauce, and torn basil brightens the finished plate. The method stays simple: prepare the fish, sear, add the sauce, and simmer until the salmon turns opaque and the scallops are firm. Everything is cooked in one pan, so there is very little to wash afterward and no separate sauce to watch.

Ingredients

Why this recipe works

Searing the salmon first builds a golden crust and a layer of browned flavor on the bottom of the skillet. Those browned bits carry the taste of the fish into the sauce when the vodka goes in and lifts them off the pan. Starting the salmon skin side up in hot fat also keeps the fillets from sticking, because the fat forms a barrier between the fish and the iron as it cooks.

The scallops are added after the salmon has a head start because they cook much faster. Sea scallops turn firm and lightly golden in only a few minutes, and if they sat in the pan as long as the salmon they would turn rubbery.

Adding them to the sauce only at the end lets each seafood reach the right texture. The cream and tomato sauce also reduces slowly with the cheese, so it coats the fish instead of running off the plate.

Notes and substitutions

Choose salmon fillets that are at least an inch thick, so the centre stays moist while the edges turn opaque. Sea scallops should be large and dry, sold without added water or preservatives, because wet scallops steam instead of browning in the skillet.

Ask the fishmonger to remove the small side muscle for you if the scallops still have it attached. A hard, aged cheese such as Parmesan grates finely and melts into the sauce without becoming stringy.

A 12-inch cast iron skillet is the best pan here, because it holds heat evenly and can go from the stovetop to the table. A box grater gives the fine shreds that dissolve into the sauce. You will also need tongs to lift the salmon and scallops onto the serving dish without breaking the fillets.

If you do not have a cast iron skillet, use a heavy stainless steel or nonstick skillet of similar size, and avoid pans that are too small, since crowding stops the fish from searing properly.

• vodka: dry white wine or extra tomato sauce for a non-alcoholic version, though the sauce will taste slightly different
• heavy cream: half-and-half for a lighter sauce, which will be less rich and may need a little more simmering to thicken
• sea scallops: shrimp, added at the same point and cooked until opaque and pink

Equipment

• 12-inch cast iron skillet
• box grater
• wooden cutting board
• tongs
• wooden spoon
• serving dish