Maine Diver Scallops With Butternut Squash Prosciutto And Orange Rind Vapor Food

MAINE SCALLOPS WITH ROASTED BABY RED BEET, PICKLED MUSTARD SEED AND PISTACHIO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit . Wash beets and remove stems. Toss cleaned beets with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Transfer beets to an oven safe dish and cover with aluminum foil. Roast beets for approximately 40 minutes until beets are tender. Remove from oven and working carefully rub skin from beets with a kitchen or paper towel. Set aside to cool. Place 4 of the peeled beets in a blender with the sherry vinegar and 2 Tablespoon of olive oil. Blend for 1 minute on high until smooth and emulsified. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• In a small sauce pot combine cider vinegar, sugar, and the 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring mixture to a boil just until sugar and salt have dissolved. Pour hot vinegar mixture over mustard seed and set aside to cool.
• Heat a large saute or cast iron pan over high heat. Add canola oil until it begins to smoke. Carefully place scallops in hot oil and sear on one side for 2 minutes until golden brown. Flip scallops, turn heat off and add butter. Baste scallops with butter for 1 minute while still in the pan. Remove scallops from pan.
• To assemble, spoon equal parts of beet puree onto 4 serving plates. Cut remaining 8 beets into quarters, season with salt and pepper, and divide onto the four plates on top of the puree. Place 2 scallops on each plate and top with a spoon of the pickled mustard seeds. Finish each plate with a Tablespoon of the crushed pistachio. An optional garnish could be mache lettuce.

PAN-FRIED SCALLOPS WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH TWO WAYS

Steps:

• To make the purée, heat the butter in a small saucepan and add the squash. Sweat it over a very low heat for 5 mins, then pour over the stock. Cover and gently simmer for 10-12 mins until the squash is very soft.
• Take off the heat and add the parmesan. Use a hand blender or food processor to blitz the squash until smooth, then press through a sieve into another saucepan. Season to taste and set aside.
• To make the warm salad, trim the squash into a neat block, then neatly dice the flesh into cubes no larger than 1cm. Heat half the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Fry the squash for 10 mins, or until tender and coloured, then tip onto a plate.
• Place the pan back on the heat and gently fry the bacon for 10 mins, or until crisp and brown. Add the onion and cook for 2 mins to soften in the fat, then add the capers and squash, drizzle over the sherry vinegar and toss together for 1 min. Off the heat, stir in the chives and the rest of the oil, then tip everything into a bowl and keep warm.
• Have the scallops to hand as you will need to work fast when cooking them. Clean out the frying pan and place it back on the heat with a drizzle more oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, carefully lay the scallops in the pan one at a time, like points on a clock face, starting at 6 o'clock, so you remember which one went in first.
• Scallops take very little time to cook, so by the time the last one is in the pan, the first will be brown and ready to turn over. Flip all the scallops over and give them about 1 min more, then lift onto kitchen paper on a plate to drain the oil. With the salad and the purée still warm, you are now ready to plate up.
• Spoon half the warm salad down the middle of each plate. Overlap 6 pieces of scallop along the salad. Use a spoon to swipe the purée around the outside of the food. Drizzle everything with a touch more oil, and you are now ready to serve.