Sea Scallops Poached in Vegetable Broth

Until I moved to France, the only scallop shell I had ever seen was at a gas station—the scallops occasionally found in California markets were sold already shucked. In Paris the scallops were sold alive in their shells. Like any pristine ingredient, perfect fresh scallops should be cooked following one of cooking’s most important axioms: the better the ingredients, the simpler the cooking method. Such ingredients have to be cooked with a light touch (or not cooked at all) so that none of their delicate flavor and natural finesse is lost.