Seared Sea Scallops And Cauliflower Purée Recipes

SEARED SEA SCALLOPS AND CAULIFLOWER PURéE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375°F and place the bacon on a tray lined with baking parchment.
• Bake for about 15 minutes until very crispy. If your bacon is quite fatty, you may need to drain the fat halfway through. Reserve on kitchen paper towel.
• Place the cauliflower into a saucepan with enough milk to just cover it.
• Bring the milk to a boil and simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft. Leave to cool.
• Purée the mixture until smooth. Sieve for extra smoothness.
• Place back into the saucepan to reheat.
• Season liberally with salt and pepper to taste.
• Pat the scallops dry with kitchen paper. This is the key to allow them to become crispy.
• Place a frying pan on medium-high heat and add a generous tablespoon of butter.
• Allow the butter to melt and the pan to get hot.
• Fry the scallops for 1-2 minutes on each side depending on the size. The scallops above are quite large so they were 2 minutes each side. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your frying pan.
• Season the scallops with salt and pepper while in the pan.
• Squeeze the bacon in the paper towel into create little bits.
• Chop the parsley.
• Dish out the reheated cauliflower purée to just cover the bottom of your plate. Next, place the scallops on the plate with the garnish. It helps if you have an extra pair of hands to assist with this step.
• Drizzle with good quality olive oil and serve with crisp white wine.

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH CAULIFLOWER PUREE

Steps:

• Heat the ghee/butter in a large non stick skillet on medium high heat. Add in the garlic and cook for 10 seconds before adding in the cauliflower. Leave the cauliflower to cook for 8 minutes, stirring every few minutes until its golden in colour.
• While the cauliflower is cooking, in another skillet cook 4 strips bacon until crispy. Once the bacon is crisp, chop it into small pieces and set aside. Leave any bacon fat in the pan.
• Once the cauliflower is evenly golden in colour, pour in the almond milk, season with salt and leave to simmer for 10 minutes until all of the liquid has evaporated. Once all of the liquid has evaporated add the cauliflower to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Transfer the puree back to the pan to keep warm while you finish the scallops.
• Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel, season them on both sides with salt and pepper and place them in the skillet with the bacon fat. Leave them to cook on medium high heat for 2 minutes until a golden crust has formed and then flip and cook for another 2 minutes on the other side. Once the scallops are seared on both sides, transfer them to a plate.
• Add the ghee/butter to the pan and once it has melted, pour in the chicken stock and white wine vinegar. Increase the heat to high and leave to simmer for approximately 4 minutes until the sauce has begun to reduce and turns cloudy in colour and then stir in the parsley and pepper.
• Return the scallops to the pan, spoon the sauce overtop and let them rest for just 30 seconds in the pan to heat through. To serve, portion the cauliflower puree between 4 plates, top with the scallops and drizzle the sauce overtop, finally sprinkle the chopped bacon over each plate.

SCALLOPS WITH CAULIFLOWER PUREE

Steps:

• Prepare the scallops by patting with a paper towel and placing on a plate, uncovered, in the fridge till ready to use. This allows them to get really dry while you prep the cauliflower.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place cauliflower florets and garlic cloves in a single layer on a sheet pan, tossing with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Meanwhile heat olive oil and butter (or ghee) in a large skillet or cast iron pan on medium high heat. Get the pan hot (but not smoking) so you'll get a nice sear right away. Space the scallops out so they sear and don't steam, even if it means cooking in batches. Sprinkle the scallops with pepper but hold off on the salt to taste - I personally don't season mine as I find them naturally salty.
• Add the scallops and don't touch them for 1 1/2-2 minutes. Check one to see if a nice brown crust has formed. If so, turn and leave them for about 60-90 seconds more. Remove scallops from pan and set aside.
• Meanwhile, toss the roasted cauliflower and garlic into a food processor or blender. Add warm milk and blend, using a tamper to press down and get it nice and smooth. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
• Spoon the cauliflower puree onto a plate and place scallops on top. Garnish with parsley. See the recipe notes for an extra sauce idea!

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH CAULIFLOWER PUREE WITH WALNUT BUTTER

Steps:

• Place the cauliflower and the vegetable stock in a sauce pan then bring to a simmer and cook for 8-12 minutes until the cauliflower is soft.
• Drain the cauliflower well, reserving the cooking liquid.
• Puree the cauliflower using either a handheld immersion blender, food processor or blender. Adding in a little cooking liquid until you have a constancy that you like.
• Season to taste and either divide it up between two covered plates or set aside until needed. (see note 2)
• First ensure the scallops are dry by patting them with paper towel to remove any moisture. Then leave them to sit on a sheet of paper towel.
• Place a heavy non-stick fry pan over a medium high heat and add the oil. Let the oil get smoking hot.
• Season the scallops lightly with salt. Then carefully and quickly add the scallops to the fry pan. Do them individually starting at 12 o'clock and working around the outside of the pan.
• Cook the scallops for 90 seconds on one side.
• Turn the heat off under the pan and add the butter and walnuts to the fry pan.
• Use tongs to gently turn each scallop over into the sizzling butter, again starting at 12 o'clock and working around in the same order you added the scallops. (see note 3)
• Once the butter has stopped sizzling, add 3 scallops to each plate and spoon over the walnut butter.
• Garnish with pomegranate arils and chopped oregano/parsley.
• Serve immediately.

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH CAULIFLOWER PUREE

Steps:

• Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes or until potato is tender. Remove from heat. Let stand, uncovered, 10 minutes.
• Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add oil, swirl to coat. Pat scallops dry with paper towels; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side.
• Pour cauliflower mixture in a blender. Add 1/2 t salt, butter and cayenne. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth.
• Serve scallops over puree.