Roasted Diver Scallops With Cauliflower Puree
Serves 2
• 6 U-10 diver scallops
• 2 cups purple cauliflower florets
• 1 bushel baby gold beets, peeled
• 2 tbsp pickled mustard seeds
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ¼ cup white wine
• 2 oz cauliflower puree
• ½ oz grapefruit gastrique
• 2 oz olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
CAULIFLOWER PUREE
Yields 1 quart
• 1 white cauliflower
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 shallots
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 oz kosher salt
For the cauliflower puree, place all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
To prepare the scallops and vegetables, place the beets and cauliflower in a bowl, and drizzle with 1 oz olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10 minutes until almost cooked through.
While the vegetables are roasting, season the scallops lightly with salt. Heat a sauté pan on the stove. Add the remaining olive oil, and heat until it’s almost smoking. Add the scallops and sear for 1 minute.
Place the sauté pan, with the scallops still searing, in the oven and roast for 3 minutes. Remove the scallops and set aside.
Add the shallots, garlic, beets and cauliflower to the sauté pan that the scallops were in. Sauté for 30 seconds, and then deglaze the pan with the white wine, and cook until the wine has evaporated.
To finish the dish, spread the cauliflower puree on the bottom of 2 serving dishes, spoon a mound of the vegetables in the center of each plate, and then place the scallops around the vegetables. Garnish with pickled mustard seeds, grapefruit gastrique and purple watercress.
