Roasted Scallops with avocado cream and cilantro salad.

It’s been a while since my last post. Lots of things have been going on that have kept me from working on new content, like getting a new job (on top of my other one). But alas, I have returned with what I believe to be some great content.

About a week ago, I cooked a huge dinner for my wife, partly just because, and partly to try out some new ideas. Some of which were:

-Pan-roasted scallops with cilantro red pepper salad, avocado cream, and peanuts

-Green tea risotto with baby bok-choy and green onions

-Crispy pork belly with black trumpets, apples and pork nage

-Banana mousse with salted tarragon caramel

Today I wanted to focus on the scallops.

I actually tried this idea out several months ago, but it was really raw, and I could not seem to execute what the ideas that I had in my head. The plating was awkward and the flavor profiles were subtly clashing. I had also originally added in a lemongrass vinaigrette, but it just ended up being an awkward part of the dish that added nothing but an oily mouth feel.

So I began to draw- I started recording some of the visions that I had about the dish and the roles that I wanted the ingredients to play (I often do this to help me see what something will be like before I execute it.)

The scallops themselves were easy. A quick pan-sear in grape seed oil (which I chose because of it’s high smoke point and neutral flavor) and some time in the oven did the trick.

For the avocado cream, I was a bit more precise.  I wanted to keep the lemongrass in the dish because it goes wonderfully with scallops and avocado both, but I didn't want the unpleasant oiliness. This led me to making an avocado cream with lemongrass and lime. I only added a touch of the latter for a nice acidity and to keep the mixture from browning. I let it pulse in the blender with  a touch of cream until it was smooth and pressed it through a fine strainer to eliminate any small chunks, which resulted in a perfectly smooth texture.

The cilantro salad was also simple: Cilantro, lime, salt, pepper, and fine juliennes of red pepper with a little bit of sesame oil.

The peanuts were fairly straightforward as well: ground into a fine powder in the blender.

In the end, I was rather pleased with the dish. The flavor of the scallops went well with the acidic qualities of the salad and avocado cream without out shining the creamy and savory characteristics of the dish.

Thanks for reading!

Coming next: Crispy pork belly with apple, black trumpets, and pork nage!

-Tim