This is a restaurant dish, and it does not pretend otherwise. Scallop chips made by freezing dried scallops and running them through a Pacojet until they form a paste, then brushed onto silicone mats and dehydrated at low temperature for hours. Cod skin deep-fried until it shatters. Blue mussels served in a corn cream built from mussel stock. Every component is an exercise in extracting maximum flavour from a single ingredient.
I include it because the thinking behind it translates to home cooking even if the equipment does not. The idea of dehydrating a seafood paste into a crisp. The idea of building a cream sauce from stock and a corn cob. These are techniques, not just recipes, and they are worth understanding. We keep coming back to this one when we want to push what a home kitchen can actually do.
How to Make Dried Scallop and Blue Mussel
The Scallop Chips
Freeze the scallops solid. Process in a Pacojet four times until you have a slightly sticky, fine paste. A high-powered blender with the scallops partially thawed can approximate this.
Brush the paste onto silicone mats in thin, even strokes about 6cm wide. Dehydrate at 50C (122F) with air circulation until completely dry and brittle. Break into pieces. These can be fried briefly in hot oil just before serving to make them puff and crisp, or served as-is.
The Cod Skin
Remove the skin from the cod in one piece. Scrape off any remaining flesh. Dry it between paper towels.
Deep-fry at high heat until it curls and turns golden, about 30-60 seconds. It puffs like a prawn cracker. Season with salt immediately. It loses its crunch within minutes, so fry it last.
The Mussel Stock Base
The mussels and the sauce come from the same stock. Simmer blue mussels in water until they open, then strain and reserve the liquid. Blanch the mussels separately. The stock gets reduced with cream and a halved corn cob to build body and sweetness. Finish with a lemon thyme mayonnaise stirred through at the end for richness.
Dried Scallops and Intense Blue Mussel
- Total Time: 300 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2
- Diet: Omnivore, Pescatarian
Description
Crispy scallop chips and intense blue mussel powder create an elegant, unexpected appetizer. Perfect for a special occasion.
Ingredients
- 1 lbs (227 g) scallops
- 2 lbs (1000 g) cod skin
- 3 cups (710 ml) cold water
- 4 cups (946 ml) blue mussel stock
- 7 oz (200 g) blanched blue mussels
- 1 lbs (454 g) oil
- 1 oz (35 g) cold cod stock
- 7 oz (214 g) mayonnaise
- 0.2 oz (6 g) chopped lemon thyme leaves
- 1 lemon juice
- Salt
- Herbs per person
- 10 lemon thyme flowers
Instructions
- Scallop chips
- Place the scallops in a Pacojet beaker and freeze.
- Run the frozen scallops 4 times on a Pacojet, until they become a slightly sticky paste.
- Brush the scallop paste onto silicone mats forming 6 cm wide tracks the length of the mat.
- Divide the brushstrokes into fields of 6 x 8 cm.
- Place the silicone mat in the oven at 122°F (50°C), 40% wind cycle and open air shutter.
- When the scallop chips start to let go of the silicone mat, remove them from the oven.
- Cut round edges on each scallop chip with scissors.
- Place the scallop chips in a dehydrator at 104°F (40°C) for 4 hours.
- Cod gel
- Rinse the cod skin in cold water.
- Place the cod skin in a stock pot and add water.
- Cover the surface of the stock pot with baking sheets.
- Let the water simmer for 4 hours on low heat without boiling.
- Sieve the cod liquid and let it cool.
- Reduce the mussel stock to 1 dl.
- Pour 100 g of reduced clam mussel stock into a round 18 x 18 cm plastic container.
- Place the container in the oven at 153°F (67°C) with open air shutter for 48 hours.
- Peel the dried mussel juice out of the container and let it cool at room temperature.
- Blend the mussel flakes into powder.
- Intense blue mussel powder
- Reduce the mussel stock to 1 dl.
- Pour 100 g of reduced clam mussel stock into a round 18 x 18 cm plastic container.
- Place the container in the oven at 153°F (67°C) with open air shutter for 48 hours.
- Peel the dried mussel juice out of the container and let it cool at room temperature.
- Blend the mussel flakes into powder.
- Blue mussels emulsion
- Blend the blue mussels and cod stock until smooth.
- Gently blend in the oil little by little.
- Sieve the blue mussels emulsion through a net.
- Stir the emulsion with lemon juice, lemon thyme, mayonnaise and season with salt.
- To assemble and serve
- Spray the blue mussels emulsion in the bottom of a bowl.
- Cover the crème with the intense blue mussels powder and decorate with thyme flowers.
- Arrange the crispy scallop chips on a cloth napkin.
Notes
- For best results, ensure your scallops are very cold before processing in the Pacojet to achieve a smooth, sticky paste.
- If you don’t have a Pacojet, you can finely dice the scallops and dehydrate them until crispy; the texture will differ slightly.
- Store the dried scallop chips and mussel powder in airtight containers in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks.
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 240 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Dehydration
- Cuisine: French-Inspired
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 2
- Sodium: 400
- Fat: 30
- Saturated Fat: 8
- Unsaturated Fat: 20
- Carbohydrates: 10
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 30
- Cholesterol: 200
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Pacojet?
It produces the finest result. A Vitamix or similar high-powered blender with partially thawed scallops can work. The texture will be slightly less smooth, but the flavour is the same. Standard food processors are not powerful enough.
Can I simplify this for home cooking?
Focus on the mussel stock corn cream, which needs no special equipment. Simmer mussels in water, strain, reduce the stock with cream and a corn cob. Serve the mussels in the cream. Skip the scallop chips and cod skin if the equipment is a barrier.
Where do I get dried scallops?
Asian grocery stores sell them, often labelled conpoy. They are expensive but intensely flavoured. A small amount produces a large batch of chips. Look for large, golden-coloured ones.
