It’s easy to get into ruts, especially with vegetables. You can spend all day thinking about the best way to cook meat and then toss some carrots in a pot to boil away their beta-carotene as an after-thought. I don’t even add salt and pepper, and I don’t even cut them precisely. I like them that way.
But I hate when other people refuse to try new things, and I realized that despite the range of recipes I do on my blog, I rarely do a gourmet restaurant-style meal. I love a good eggplant purée with olive oil at Le Comptoir Charcuteries et Vins, and the first time I made that cauliflower purée from Becky Selengut’s “Good Fish” I wondered why I didn’t purée more things. It’s a great texture and an easy way to get some more vegetables down, and most importantly, it makes for a stunning presentation.
Then I realized why I didn’t purée more things – it’s an extra step. You need to get out the hand blender or immersion blender or mash things for awhile. You’re going to dirty at least one extra utensil and probably make a mess (if you’re me), all to not make the vegetable taste much different. Except I know it makes all the difference in the (food) world, because when I made this dish and announced its name: “Seared scallops with carrot purée and orange-butter sauce: roasted pecans and potatoes,” I had a surge of pride and a moment picturing myself in a large Chef hat and form-fitting (instead of manly, oversized) chef-whites somewhere in the middle of Italy (or San Diego or somewhere in the Napa Valley) on my vineyard (clearly not San Diego) serving a group of affluent travelers who’d found my restaurant in their guide book of the best places to eat in the area. The colon definitely helped.
The other things is, as much as it’s a little extra work to purée the freaking carrots, it’s really, really simple. Any idiot could do it, as my mother would say. That means me (my mother never said that part, bless her heart). It also means you could do it, as I’m pretty sure you’re at least more rational than I am, and probably a better cook.
Seared Scallops with Carrot Purée and Orange-Butter Sauce: roasted pecans and potatoes
Serves 4
2 lbs scallops (the ones we get here are Atlantic, and they’re not the most sustainable because they’re dredged, which tears up the ocean floor, destroying the habitat of lots of other marine life. So don’t eat them all the time. Fortunately, they cost an arm and a leg, so you probably won’t.
a sprinkle of salt and pepper (sprinkle from high above the scallops to distribute evenly)
1 tbsp high-heat oil (vegetable oil, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed oil)
Pan-fried Potatoes
2 lbs potatoes (fingerlings are best, but yukon gold or other waxy potatoes will all be fine)
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Carrot Purée
6-8 large carrots (depends how much you love carrots)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper (or a pinch)
2 – 4 tbsp reserved steaming or boiling water, or chicken or vegetable broth
Roasted pecans
1/4 cup pecan pieces
Orange-butter sauce
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
2 tsp lemon juice (or Pernod)
freshly ground salt and pepper
1/2 cup cold butter (or earth balance), cut in cubes
Garnish
4 lemon slices
Directions
Boil the potatoes whole in their skins (about 15-20 minutes, depending on their size) or cut into smaller pieces to boil more quickly. Boiling whole reserves more nutrients and stops them from becoming glue-y. Drain and run under cold water. Drain again. Peel when cool enough to handle and cut into chunks or 1/4″ slices. Heat a large skillet with the oil and add the chunks in an even layer (you’ll need to do batches). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn as each side browns so that the outsides are crisp. Remove to a plate and keep warm.
Peel carrots and cut into 1/2″ rounds. Steam or boil until tender (about 6-8 minutes) and then drain (reserving the liquid!!!) and rinse under cold water to shock the carrots into staying bright orange. Transfer to a large bowl or blender and blend or purée (or mash) with the salt and pepper. Add the reserved liquid or stock 1 tbsp at a time until purée is smooth. You want it to be a little pillow-y. It should be firm enough to serve as a bed for the scallops, but not dense and tough. Think of it as an orange cloud – light and airy. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Keep warm (place in the oven in a heat-proof casserole or just cover with aluminum foil.
While carrots are steaming, toast the pecans. Place on a baking sheet and place in the oven at 425 F for about 5 minutes, or until aromatic and slightly darkened. You can also do this in a dry skillet over medium heat but you need to turn them every now and then so they brown evenly. It’s too easy to forget this way and let them burn. For goodness sake, set an kitchen timer if you put them in the oven though. I recently baked a cake for 30 minutes too long because of my own kitchen pride…hubris.
Combine the orange juice, lemon juice (or Pernod), and orange zest in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and let reduce for 1 minute on high heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the butter, a couple pieces at a time, stirring after each addition. You don’t have to add all the butter, but if you do you won’t need to use much of the sauce on the scallops since every bite will be so flavourful. So use the full fat and just use less sauce. Your tastebuds and waistline will thank you. Keep warm but don’t let the sauce simmer while you make the scallops.
Dry the scallops on a paper towel. Use a cast-iron skillet or your best frying pan that cooks evenly. Don’t use non-stick because it doesn’t like high heat, so you won’t end up with a good caramelization. Place scallops on a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Heat the pan on high heat without the oil. You don’t want it to smoke. Do not turn the heat down. Add the oil and when the oil is hot (it should splatter when you flick a little water on it from your fingertips in just 10 seconds or so), add your scallops, tipping the pan away from you if you’re scared of splattering oil.
Don’t crowd the scallops; they’re claustrophobic. It has to do with water evaporation. Cook them in batches if you have to.
Wait 2 minutes. Don’t touch them in this time. Then peek under the side of a scallop. If it’s sticking to the pan it’s probably not ready yet, but if it’s black, then you should use a different pan next time. The scallop should actually release from the pan easily when it’s caramelized. Flip the scallop if it’s golden-brown and cook for 30 seconds on the opposite side (up to 1 minute, but only if they’re gigantic).
Remove scallops to a plate. Assemble each plate by creating a line of carrot purée in the front third of the plate (you choose which side is the front…) and topping with 3 or four large scallops. Arrange pan-fried potatoes behind mount of carrots and sprinkle all with 1 tbsp of pecan pieces per plate. Drizzle with two tablespoons of the orange-butter sauce per plate and serve remaining sauce on the side.
Leave a Reply