Blackened Scallops, Asparagus, and Tomatoes with White Balsamic Reduction →

“Blackening” meat or fish is the cooking technique made popular by New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme back in the late 1970’s. Today the “blackening” technique is still extremely popular in restaurants across the country, but for many it remains outside of the realm of “home-cooking”. I love blackened scallops and have gone through many attempts to develop my own kitchen technique to produce the blackened scallops you get in many restaurants in Cajun country and in some better restaurants elsewhere. Simply put, “blackening” happens when any dense meat or fish is dipped in (or brushed with) butter, dredged in blackening spice, and seared on an almost red-hot cast iron frying pan. The desired blackened (not burned) crust develops from the milk solids from the butter and the spice mix coming in contact with the super-heated iron pan. The process creates a lot of smoke, so I recommend you blacken your scallops, or fish, or steak on the grill outside so you don’t set off the fire alarms in your house. Put your cast iron pan on the hot grill for a good 10 minutes before you start to cook. All the traditional spice mix recipes I have researched call for varying measures of paprika, salt and pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and thyme along with a large dose of cayenne. For this recipe, I have reduced the amount of cayenne to make it accessible for folks (like my wife) who like but can’t tolerate extremely spicy-hot food. For those, like me, who smile while our eyes are tearing and our brows begin to sweat when eating some very spicy dishes, start by doubling the cayenne in my recipe. If that doesn’t do it for you, go full bore and add a full tablespoon of cayenne like most of the blackening recipes call for. There’s a fine line between enjoyment and culinary-sado-masochism. To each his- or her-own. Bon appétit et laissez les bons temps rouler.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 12 large scallops (preferably “dry” not “wet” scallops treated with sodium tripolyphosphate)

• 12 asparagus spears (trim two or three inches off the tough end of the stalk)

• 3-4 plumb tomatoes sliced ¼ inch thick

• 1 cup white balsamic vinegar

• 2 tablespoons minced shallot

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• Blackening Spice (recipe below)

• ½ stick of butter melted

Preparation: Either buy or make your blackening spice (recipe below)
Put your cast iron fry pan on your hot grill for about 10 minutes to get it super-hot.

1. Steam the asparagus for about 3 minutes for “tender-crunchy”. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking; dry and set aside.

2. Rinse and slice the tomatoes so you have 3-4 slices per person.

Make the balsamic reduction:

1. Bring the white balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small sauce pan and reduce heat to medium.

2. Add the minced shallot and brown sugar and reduce the liquid, stirring frequently, until you have about 1/3 to ¼ cup of syrup. (See *Note below)

3. Place 3-4 slices of tomato on each plate and top with three asparagus spears.

4. Drizzle lightly with the balsamic reduction.

Blacken the Scallops:

1. Melt the butter and cover a small plate with blackening spice adding more as needed.

2. One scallop at a time: dip in butter and lightly dip both sides of the scallop on the blackening spice. Collect the prepared scallops on a clean plate.

3. Lightly oil the surface of the super-hot fry pan. (you can use a quick spray of Pam or use a wad of paper towel to spread one or two teaspoons of oil on the surface of the fry pan. Be careful!)

4. Gently add up to six scallops at a time to the hot fry pan; cook 2 minutes without moving them before turning over for another two minutes. This should give you a good blackened crust on both sides without over-cooking the scallops. Loosely tent the cooked scallops on a plate and repeat the process with the remaining six scallops.

Place three scallops on top of the bed of asparagus and tomatoes and serve. (Optional: add a couple of drops of balsamic reduction on each scallop.)

*Note: the balsamic reductions thickens quickly as it cools. You can thin it out by adding one or two teaspoons of water to the pan and reheating over low heat stirring constantly.)

Emeril’s Essence_blackening spice adapted

Ingredients:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. A spice grinder is helpful. Keep in a tightly closed container with your other spices.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/emerils-essence-3645101

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/10/09/447098722/chef-paul-prudhomme-will-live-on-through-his-restaurants-spices-and-books

Seared Scallops with Romesco Sauce →

Rich colorful Romesco sauce features almonds, olive oil, peppers and tomatoes….ingredients widely used in Spanish cuisine. It’s not surprising almonds and olive oil are popular ingredients in many Spanish dishes: Spain is the number one producer of olive oil in Europe and second to the United States in producing almonds. Serve the sauce with fish or shellfish and/or grilled vegetables, or on crostini. It is also an excellent dip for crudités (assorted raw vegetables).

Romesco Sauce

Yield: about 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 medium red pepper, and

• 1 orange or red Cubanelle pepper roasted, peeled, seeds and membranes removed

• 3 medium tomatoes or 4 Roma tomatoes (about 3/4 pound)

• 2 thick slices (about 2 ounces) baguette or country-style bread, crusts removed, lightly toasted

• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled

• ½ cup toasted almonds, or a combination of almonds and skinned roasted hazelnuts (I use ¼ c. of each)

• 1 to 2 teaspoons pure ground smoky ancho chile powder, or regular chili powder to taste (*Note: 1 tsp. is mild; 2 tsp. has a bit of heat)

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika or Spanish smoked paprika (pimentón) (*Note: use regular paprika if you use smoky ancho chili powder; use the smoked pimentón with regular chili powder.)

• Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste

• Freshly ground pepper to taste

• 2 tablespoon sherry vinegar

• ¼ to ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, as needed

  (*Note: Romesco will keep for a few days in a tightly sealed glass container in the fridge.)

Preparation:

Preheat the broiler and cover a baking sheet with foil.

1. Lightly toast the bread and nuts and set aside.

2. Cut the tomatoes in half, core and seed them; do the same with the peppers and quarter them.

3. Place the tomatoes and fresh peppers skin side up on the baking sheet and place under the broiler at the highest setting. Broil for two to four minutes, until skin is charred. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. The skins on the tomatoes should peel off easily; you may have to scrape off the pepper skins after a few minutes. (see *Note about peppers)

4. Add the garlic cloves to a food processor and process until the garlic is chopped and adheres to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides. Add the toasted almonds (or almonds and hazelnuts), bread and chile powder to the bowl and process to a dry paste.

5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the peppers, tomatoes, parsley, paprika, salt and pepper and process until smooth.

6. With the machine running on slow, add the vinegar and olive oil in a slow stream, beginning with the smaller amount of olive oil and adding more until you achieve the consistency you want. Increase the speed and process until well mixed and scrape into a bowl.

7. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt or chile as desired.

8. Allow the sauce to stand for an hour or more at room temperature to meld the flavors before using.

9. Left-over sauce will keep in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container for several days.

*Note: if you don’t want to bother roasting, peeling, and seeding the peppers, an acceptable substitute is a 12 ounce jar of Roasted Peppers, drained and patted dry. Proceed as above.

Seared Scallops:

Serves 4

1. Use 12 large sea scallops, preferably flash frozen, to avoid the bitter taste of chemically treated scallops.

2. Pat the scallops dry and salt and pepper them.

3. Heat a heavy frying pan like a cast iron skillet until it is very hot. (Your seasoned cast iron pan will begin to smoke.)

4. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, swirl the oil in the pan and add 6 scallops, cooking without moving the scallops for 2 minutes per side. Flip the scallops and cook for an additional 2 minutes. This should ensure a nice seared crust on the scallops without over-cooking them.

5. Remove the scallops to a platter and tent; repeat the process above with the remaining 6 scallops.

Prepare the plates:

Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of Romesco onto a small plate, top with 3 scallops on each plate.
Garnish with a few strands of green Japanese Salad for added color and texture. (optional)
Serve with a crusty bread to dip in the delicious sauce.

A Spanish Albariño or Verdejo, or a light Italian Vermentino, a soft Sauvignon Blanc, or even a slightly effervescent Portuguese Vinho Verde pair well with this dish. Salud!

Adapted from: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016089-martha-rose-shulmans-romesco-sauce