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Diver Scallops

Sean Falcon

     I love scallops, even more than lobster. Yes, more than lobster. Get over it. So the deal with scallops is that you want to buy 'dry' packed scallops. You're going to pay more for the, but with that price, comes quality. What you absolutely don't want to get are wet packed scallops. This means that the scallops have been soaked in a pool of sodium tripolyphosphate, which is meant to add water weight. Never a good thing. On top of having unnecessary liquid added to your food, it messes with cooking process as well. When you go to sear your scallops, all of the extra liquid will come rushing out into the pan and end up steaming your scallops in a bath of phosphate water. Delicious right? No. Not at all. Buy dry packed, fresh scallops. You may have to hunt for them, but it'll be worth it in the end.

     I wanted to do something different with the asparagus, so I peeled them and cooked the peels in some parsley water. The vibrant green water coupled with the thin peels of asparagus made it look like pasta, which was a happy accident.

The Process

Ingredients

Scallops

  • Diver Scallops. 2-3 per person, depending on size.
  • Clarified Butter
  • Kosher Salt

Scallop Brine (optional)

  • 5% Brine - Kosher salt to water
  • So if you have 1000ml water, you'll want 50g salt. Scale up or down as needed.

Asparagus

  • One bunch of large asparagus

Parsley Water

  • 1/2 bunch of parsley, stems included
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1 tbsp + 1tsp clover honey 

Mushrooms

  • .5lbs Maitake mushrooms or similar

Cookware

  • Medium Cast Iron Skillet or Fry pan
  • Vitamix or food processor (for the parsley water)
  • Cooling rack
  • Quarter sheet rack to roast the mushrooms on

Cooking Instructions

Scallops

  • Brine the scallops for 8 minutes
  • Pat dry
  • Let sit on paper towels to drain
  • Discard brine.
  • Heat the clarified butter in a pan over medium heat until shimmering
  • Season the tops of the scallops with a little kosher salt. Scallops can be naturally salty so you may want to cook a tester just to make sure you're in the ballpark. 
  • Cook the scallops, presentation side down until golden brown, 3 minutes
  • Flip them and cook the bottoms for another minute
  • Transfer them to a rack to drain while you prepare the rest

Parsley water

  • Put the cold water in a separate bowl
  • Drop the honey into a medium hot pan
  • Add the parsley after 15 seconds
  • Saute until wilted. 1-2 minutes
  • Drop into cold water
  • Puree and set aside

Asparagus

  • Peel to get tough outer skin off
  • peel from top to bottom, trim the tips off
  • Saute the tips for a couple of minutes then add the parsley water, then the shaved peels
  • Cook until tender

Maitakes

  • Break the mushrooms down into bite sized florets
  • Put them into a large mixing bowl
  • Drizzle some olive oil over top, a pinch of salt and onion powder
  • Toss to combine
  • Repeat this one or two more times, depending on how many mushrooms you have. You just want them all to be evenly seasoned.
  • Preheat your oven to 400º
  • Roast the mushrooms for 15 minutes. They should not be wet or soggy, but not dry or crunchy, so keep an eye on them as they cook and adjust accordingly. 

The Finished Dish