Sea Scallop with Truffled Cauliflower Puree, Crispy Mushrooms, Bacon, Butter Poached Radish and Creamer Potatoes

For this dish I used the "Twice Cooked Scallop" recipe from the "Ideas in Food" cookbook by Aki Komazawa and Alexander Talbot.  The scallops were brined in a .05% salt water solution for ten minutes, then cooked sous vide at 122 degrees for thirty minutes before shocking in an ice bath.  The scallops were fired to order in a smoking hot cast iron skillet.

The radishes were cooked sous vide as well, with butter, shallot, thyme, kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper joining it in the bag.  They cooked at 180 degrees for 45 minutes.

The petit creamer potatoes were cooked fully submerged in fat on a low flame for 45 minutes.  Time will depend on the size of the potatoes.  Cooking them for so long at such a low temperature develops the starch in these tiny potatoes and they become sweet, tender little delicacies.  They are finished with just a fleck of sea salt.

Twice Cooked Scallop with Celeriac Puree, Apple-Bacon Butter Sauce

 

Aki Kamozawa and Alexander Talbot at Ideas in Food have created the perfect scallop recipe, it appears in their book by the same name that was released last year.

For this dish I used U-10 (unit of measurement indicated there are under 10 per pound) dry-packed sea scallops.   I removed the "foot" from the scallop and reserved it for use in the reduction for the butter sauce.  The scallops were brined for ten minutes in a 5% sea salt-water solution, so for every 20 grams of water you will add 1 gram of sea salt.  The quick brine adds flavor and slightly firms the scallops.

The scallops were then removed from the brine and laid end-to-end and wrapped in plastic wrap just as a terrine would be, creating a log shape.  This gives the scallops a great shape and results in the scallops having more height and uniformity in the final product.  The "logs" of wrapped scallops were then placed in cryovac bags and cooked in the immersion circulator at 122 degrees for thirty minutes.  Once they came out of the water they were placed in an ice bath to cool.  At this point  they can be reserved for service and held for several days in cryovac.

After removing from the cryovac bag the scallops need to be dried thoroughly before searing...excess moisture will create a barrier of steam between the pan and the scallop, preventing then from browning as desired.  After drying the scallops were seasoned with freshly ground white pepper, seared quickly in a cast iron skilllet, basted with browned butter and finished with a couple flecks of sea salt.

The twice cooked scallops were served with a puree of celery root and an apple-bacon butter sauce, then garnished with Lucky Leaf Garden's pea tendrils.

The finished product was absolutely outstanding...the scallops were tender and moist, the flavor was concentrated from the sous vide process, and the quick sear gave it outstanding color and texture.

Molasses Glazed Smoked Scallop with Truffled Corn Soup, Bacon Foam

It's rare that you have a scallop that is mediocre...they usually turn out really good or really terrible. Prepare them correctly and you have a tender and mildly sweet treat; prepare them incorrectly and they are dry and rubbery dog treats. The key to cooking a great scallop is to use high heat, a small amount of fat (I use clarified butter), patting the scallops dry before sauteing, and waiting to season until the last minute so the salt doesn't pull out extraneous moisture. If a dry scallop goes into a hot pan for a short amount of time it will be golden brown, flavorful and tender.

For this preparation I brined the scallop for a short amount of time before letting it rest in the refrigerator uncovered to form a pellicle. It received a quick hot smoke on the range before being sauteed, then glazed (two parts molasses, one part veal stock) and briefly placed in the oven.

Molasses Glazed Smoked Scallop with Truffled Corn Jus, Micro Basil, Crisp Shiitakes

There’s nothing I hate more than “palate fatigue”, eating so much of the same thing in one sitting that you become completely de-sensitized to the experience. I want our guest to find a new flavor or texture with every bite, and then have them finish right before they are satisfied…hopefully they are still thinking about the last course when the next one comes along.

One thing I like about this dish is that it maintains it’s novelty from start to finish. There are enough different flavors and textures to make it interesting from beginning to end.

For the scallop I cold smoked U-10 sea scallops after making sure they were very dry. After lightly smoking, I seared them and then brushed them with a molasses glaze that was equal parts molasses and veal stock. The veal stock tames the sweetness and also adds a deeper, richer background flavor for the molasses.

The truffled corn jus is extremely simple, and the quality of it will depend on the corn that you begin with. I take fresh corn off the cob and sauté it in whole butter over medium heat with just a little yellow onion and celery. Season with salt and pepper, then deglaze with chicken stock. I then use a slotted spoon to take the corn (with a little celery and onion) into a blender. Add just enough chicken stock from the pot to the blender for the blades to catch and puree the contents. You can adjust the consistency with the chicken stock. When you’ve finished, season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper. Drizzle with truffle oil to taste.

The crispy shiitakes are very simple and pretty phenomenal. Just cut the stem off and give it a fine julienne, then deep fry at 325 degrees until crispy, let drain on a paper towel. Season lightly with kosher salt. Frying them dehydrates them and intensifies the flavor. They taste like the earth.

Basil oil garnishes the plate. For basil oil I do the following: Fry the leaves of basil that you will use for the oil to lock in the chlorophyll. Use only salad oil, not olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, as the acidic nature of it will act on the chlorophyll and dull the color of the finished product. Vegetable oil is pretty neutral. I place the vegetable oil in the freezer as well. After the basil is fried and the pitcher and oil are chilled down, place the basil in the pitcher and add just enough oil to almost reach the top of the basil. Blend on the highest setting; Heat is your enemy in this process as it will also make the chlorophyll lose it’s brightness. You want to finish the basil oil before it gets a chance to warm up. Strain with a chinois. If you let it sit overnight it will separate by density and the solids will be on the bottom, you can pour off the oil leaving the bits of leaves behind. You can store the finished basil oil in the freezer and it will hold it's color well between uses.

I garnish the plate with green and purple micro basil. I use Tega Hills Farms just outside of Charlotte. They have fantastic product and are just really great people to work with. Mark and Mindy Robinson own and operate the hydroponic farm and their number is (803)370-2132 if you’d like to learn more about their product.