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Recipes

Experimental Recipe – Scallops Poached in Champagne

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Pretty much the entire month of October was taken up by preparations for a little gaming convention this past weekend, so I have been busy painting little soldiers instead of cooking and blogging…

Tuesday was my first full day off since then and I decided to have some fun with some scallops. Because I am a bit of a planner I wrote out a menu for the night’s festivities, something to give me a foundation to build upon.

menu plan on whiteboard

At least one Twitter follower thought it was “meticulous”. It’s just the way I do things.

Gathering the Mise

  • Scallops, preferably large dry sea scallops
  • Champagne, I used Freixenet
  • Radicchio
  • Arugula
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Juice of 1/2 Lemon
  • Green Onion Aioli
  • Red Onion
  • Green Onion
  • Artichoke Hearts
  • Red or Yellow Sweet Bell Pepper
  • Shallot
  • Paprika
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste

Preparation

First I started to marinate the Red Bell Pepper, some Green Onion and Red Onion in the Lemon Juice with some fresh-ground Black Pepper and a Teaspoon of EVOO.

aromatics marinating in lemon juice(Do this part first so the vegetables have time to absorb that Lemony goodness)

Next I put about 1/4 cup of the Balsamic Vinegar with the sliced Shallot in a pan over medium heat to reduce a little.

Poaching the Scallops themselves only takes a short time, so we save that step for last. The next thing I did was start to assemble the salad ingredients on the plate. Since the Scallops and the Balsamic reduction were going to be sweet I wanted there to be some bitterness to contrast that flavor, with the acid of the Lemon juice bringing all of the pieces together.

bitter greans for poached scallop dishCut out a thin slice of the Radicchio, this will be the base of the salad. I also roughly chopped some more for a garnish, alongside Green Onions cut on a bias and the Artichoke Hearts (the kind that come in a jar, packed in oil – drain them but do not rinse). I also gave the plate a dusting of Paprika and a few drops of the EVOO.

When the Balsamic was where I like it I took it off the heat and put it in the fridge to chill. I put another sautee pan on the heat and poured in a cup or so of the Champagne, turning up the heat too.

Time to finish building the salad. Pile some of the Arugula atop the Radicchio slice, add the marinated vegetables:

set up the salad

Finally, add your Scallops to the boiling Champagne and cook them to your desired level of doneness. I like mine firm, perhaps a little underdone. Place the Scallops on top of your salad, then drizzle with the Balsamic Reduction and Green Onion Aioli.

And Voila!

Scallops Poached in Champagne with Bitter Greens

Recipes

Experimental Recipe – Green Onion Aioli

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Last night I had a friend over after work. We drank a couple of beers and talked about food and cooking. He is going to come over next week to spend some time with me in the kitchen, I am going to teach him how I make some of my favorite dishes (yes, there will be pics and posts!).

I had him try some baby potatoes with garlic aioli – a recipe that I made out of a Tapas cookbook I picked up this weekend – and he just about fell over. It’s a dead-simple thing, making aioli, but getting the proportions right is the key.

This morning I woke up thinking about that aioli, and how would it taste if I subbed out the garlic for green onions? I let the thought simmer on the back burner of my mind while I took care of some housekeeping and decided to try an Experimental Recipe.

Extracting the Green Onion Flavor

The most important part of this experiment, for me, was getting the most flavor out of those fresh green onions. They are one of my favorite garnishes, with such a lovely green flavor and lightly pungent aroma.

I took five of them, cut them down to 2″ lengths, and put them in the NutriBullet with a 1/4-cup of water and about a 1/4 teaspoon of fresh-ground peppercorns (I am using a blend of Black, Pink and White peppercorns right now). I pureed this for about 40 seconds, making sure all of the stems were broken down.

The result was an intensely green onion-flavored froth with an amazing aroma.

Green Onion Puree
Green Onion Puree

The second step was to get some of that extra water back out of the puree. I put it into a small pan and reduced it on low heat for about five minutes, stirring gently to release the air. When it began to look more ‘liquid’ I took it off the heat to cool down to room temperature. I also stirred in one tablespoon of Champagne Vinegar so it could start working on permeating the onion puree.

Mixing Your Aioli

      Puree:

    • 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
    • 5 Green Onions
    • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • pinch of salt
  • 5 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 4 tablespoons Canola Oil

Separate the yolk from a large egg and put it in a small dish to warm up to room temperature. When the yolk and puree are right, add them together in a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of lemon juice and whisk.

Note: When I initially made this I did not include the lemon juice. When I tasted the finished product I found it needed a little more ooomph, so I whisked in the lemon juice… Boom! Perfect.

Once the sauce has achieved a creamy, uniform consistency, start drizzling in your olive and canola oil while whisking briskly.

Serving Ideas

I had some blanched veggies left over from the other night’s dinner so I used them for dipping:

Blanched Chilled Veggies with Green Onion Aioli
Blanched Chilled Veggies with Green Onion Aioli: Asparagus, Red Bell Pepper, Zucchini, Carrot, Mushroom and Snap Peas

I have to say that it is simply amazing with the asparagus and the snap peas.

Give it a try, I’d love to hear what you think.