Scallops and curried cauliflower - Stöss cooks a UK Masterchef challenge.
Missing in action last week due to an Easter long weekend away in the nation’s capital, we are back this week with a slightly fancy dish that is much easier to prepare than you would think.
As an apology for leaving your inboxes empty last week, I have a gift of knowledge for next time you’re in Canberra. Get yourself to Terra and eat their sweet and sour pork jowl. Around the table we collectively agreed it was definitely top 3 best bites of all time!
I am not ashamed to say one of my guiltiest of pleasures is indulging in the professional edition of Masterchef - specifically UK Masterchef: The Professionals series. While I could say I enjoy it for the creative and technically proficient dishes prepared, I’d be lying. In reality it’s the crumbling of said professional chefs when set with the first round ‘skills test’: the cooking (individually, under time and judgement pressure) of a surprise dish, intended to test knowledge and technical prowess. Shocking I know, but I revel in the car crashes that are presented at the end of each 20 minute challenge.
Could I do better in their situation - put on the spot, camera in face, Michelin starred judges watching my every move? Most certainly not. However, it’s very entertaining if you’re a food nerd and judgy like me.
Taking inspiration from a recent episode and skills test set by the legendary English chef Marcus Wareing, I set about making a dish with the scallops that had been lingering in my freezer for the last few months.
Scallops and cauliflower are such a classic combination. My version seeing the grilled scallops served with a smooth cauliflower puree, finished with a curry spiced butter with pine nuts and raisins. This agrodolce (sweet and savoury) sauce - the sweetness of the raisins and the savouriness of the curry powder and pine nuts - is what brings the whole plate together.
*agrodolce hot tip - if you haven’t tried Vegemite on fruit toast you are *really* missing out! This is the ultimate agrodolce food and it’s a banger.
To make this dish more of a meal, I served it with a dish of braised potatoes and peas. Braising the sliced potatoes in chicken stock and butter sees the starch in the potatoes really help thicken up the liquid as it cooks and creates the most luxurious consistency. By the time the potatoes are cooked through, you are left with tender potatoes covered in a light coating of rich velvety buttery sauce.
These potatoes are simple to make and lend themselves to all sorts of proteins - being a delicious accompaniment to roast chicken and pork, or even a firm meaty fish.
Stöss x
Seared scallops, cauliflower puree, curried cauliflower dressing. Braised potatoes.
INGREDIENTS
Scallops - allow 3 per-person - fresh if you can get nice ones but frozen is okay too.
40g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Flake salt
Cauliflower Puree
1 cauliflower - 3/4 cut into large florets, the remaining reserved for the curried cauliflower
1 brown onion - finely diced
4 garlic cloves - finely diced
40g butter
500ml chicken stock
Flake salt and black pepper
Curried Cauliflower Dressing
Remaining cauliflower - cut into very small 1cm cubed florets
2 tbsp pine nuts - toasted
2 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp olive oil
70g butter
1 tsp mild curry powder
Flake salt
Braised Potato
400g potato - sliced into 1cm discs
250ml chicken stock
70g frozen (or fresh) peas
40g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Flake salt and black pepper
METHOD
Start the cauliflower puree by melting the butter over a low-medium heat in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened. This should take about 5 minutes. Keep the heat low as you do not want to brown or burn the onions and garlic - you simply want to soften them.
Add the cauliflower and stock. Cover, bring to a simmer and cook until cauliflower is tender.
Take the lid off the pot and continue to simmer until the stock has reduced by about three-quarters.
Using a bench-top blender or stick blender, blitz the cauliflower and liquid to form a very smooth purée. Taste and season with salt. *You can adjust purée consistency as required: Thicken by cooking down further while stirring over a low heat, or thin it out by whisking in more stock, or if you feel decadent, fresh cream.
Once done, turn off the heat and cover.
While the cauliflower puree is cooking, start your braised potato. Do this by melting the butter with the olive oil in a frying pan small enough to hold the slice potatoes in a thin layer. When the butter starts to foam, add the potato, and toss through.
Pour over the chicken stock, cover, and simmer gently until the potatoes are tender and nearly cooked through.
Remove the lid, continue to simmer, and allow the liquid to reduce to a glossy and syrup like consistency.
Add the peas and mix through for 60 seconds. Taste and season with flake salt and black pepper.
Remove from the heat and place to one side.
To make the curried cauliflower dressing, start by heating a fry pan over a medium-high heat. Melt half the butter with the olive oil. Add the florets and curry powder, and fry until they start to brown and soften.
Add the pine nuts and raisins and toss through the cauliflower.
Add the remaining butter and stir through. Taste and season with flake salt and pepper.
Remove from the heat and place to the side with the other elements of the dish.
To bring it all together it’s time to cook the scallops. Do this by heating a frypan over a high heat and adding the butter and olive oil. *Keep an eye on the butter as it will start to burn quickly.
When the butter starts to foam, add the scallops to the pan and sprinkle flake salt over them. Using a tablespoon, spoon the melted butter in the pan over the top of the scallops. Depending on the thickness of your scallops these will only take 60-90 seconds before you need to turn them over. Now flip them over and again, spoon the butter in the pan over the scallops. After 45 seconds remove the scallops from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate.
To serve, carefully place a spoon full of the cauliflower puree onto the plate. Place three scallops carefully on top of the puree, and then spoon the curried cauliflower dressing over the scallops.
Serve the scallops with the braised potatoes (and in our case, a small simple salad of dressed crisp green leaves).
Eat.
Unless mentioned otherwise, each recipe will comfortably serve three people.