Description
An elegant, restaurant-worthy dish featuring perfectly seared scallops atop a vibrant, fresh pea purée. Garnished with fresh herbs and vegetables, it’s a celebration of spring flavors.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 white onion
- 1 cup (237 ml) of water
- 2 cups (473 ml) fresh peas
- sea salt (to taste)
- 4 cipollini
- 1/2 cucumber
- 12 caper berries (replaceable with regular capers)
- 1/2 cup (118 ml) fresh (raw shucked peas)
- lemon zest of 1/4 lemon (grated)
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) extra virgin olive oil (to sear the scallops)
- 4 scallops
- 20 dill flowers (replaceable with other edible flowers)
- 16 violets (replaceable with other edible flowers)
- 16 small sprigs of mint
- 16 small sprigs of oregano
- optional:
- 2 pickled turnips
- 4 pickled mushrooms
- for the honey pickled turnips:
- 200 ml (3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) white wine vinegar
- 100 ml (6 1/2 tablespoons) white wine
- 100 ml (6 1/2 tablespoons) water
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml) honey
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) saffron powder
- 5 baby turnips (for the scallop dish you’ll only use 2)
- for the honey pickled mushrooms:
- 20 king oyster mushrooms (for scallop dish you’ll only use 4)
Instructions
- For the Pea Puree: Dice a 1/4 onion, heat up the olive oil in a saucepan and let the onion sauté for 10 minutes on low heat until soft and colorless.
- Add 1 cup (237 ml) water and a pinch of salt to the pan and bring to a boil.
- Add 2 cups (473 ml) fresh peas, boil 1 minute, and transfer directly to a blender.
- Blend on high for 1 minute, then pass through a strainer into a container (preferably metal) sitting in an ice bath to cool very quickly and preserve the green color.
- Once cool, season the puree with salt. It should be very thick and stand up on a plate. You will only use about 1/2 cup (118 ml) of finished pea puree, but you need to make extra so it can puree in the blender.
- For the rest of the dish: Cut the cipollini in half and sear them in a pan until the cut side is charred (this should take about 5 minutes). Let them cool down and separate the rings.
- Wash the cucumber, slice it lengthwise using a mandolin, cut out the seeds, and then roll up each slice.
- Slightly cut the bottoms of the caper berries so they stand upright on the plate.
- Toss the raw shucked peas in olive oil with a little salt and lemon zest.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. When it starts to sizzle, sear the scallops for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side.
- In the meantime, start assembling the dish: Put 8 to 10 nickel, dime, and quarter size dots of pea puree down the side of the plate, alternating them.
- Place some of the rolled up cucumbers along the side in a zig zag pattern.
- Do the same with the caper berries and the cipollini rings: put 3 of each on the plate, spacing them out down the side.
- Make sure that you alternate the ingredients and use them to fill in the gaps between them.
- Cut the seared scallops in half and arrange 2 halves on each plate.
- Sprinkle the raw peas to fill in the gaps and then finish the dish by filling in any parts with the picked dill flowers, herbs, and violets.
- For the Honey Pickled Turnips: Bring all liquid ingredients (white wine vinegar, white wine, and water) to a boil, pour the mixture over the peeled turnips, add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of saffron powder, and seal the jar.
- Allow the turnips to pickle for 3 to 5 days.
- Add 1/2 a baby turnip cut into quarters to the final dish (half a turnip per plate) and enjoy!
- For the Honey Pickled Mushrooms: Bring all liquid ingredients (white wine vinegar, white wine, and water) to a boil, pour the mixture over the peeled turnips, add 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of saffron powder, and seal the jar.
- Grill the mushrooms, put them in a jar, and pour the pickling liquid over them until they are covered for 3/4 of their volume. Then cover them completely with olive oil and seal the jar.
- Once pickled, add 1 pickled mushroom cut into quarters to the final dish (4 mushrooms total) and enjoy!
Notes
- To preserve the vibrant green color of the pea puree, cool it quickly in an ice bath after blending and passing through a strainer.
- Ensure the olive oil is hot and sizzling when searing the scallops, and cook them for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side for a proper sear.
- The pea puree should be very thick so it can stand up on the plate when assembling the dish.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Searing
- Cuisine: Contemporary American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 plate
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 350
- Fat: 15
- Saturated Fat: 2
- Unsaturated Fat: 13
- Carbohydrates: 15
- Fiber: 5
- Protein: 10
- Cholesterol: 25