Caramelized Sea Scallops, Truffles, and Lobster Coral – Butter Sauce
Fat sea scallops are layered with shaved truffles and sauteed to a golden brown. They are served with creamy risotto and garnished with flash-fried vegetable strips and Lobster Coral – Butter Sauce. Lobster coral isn’t bright coral-red in its raw state; you’ll see it change color before your eyes as you make the sauce.
Ingredients
- Risotto
- Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
- Shallot - 1, minced
- Garlic - 1 clove, minced
- Arborio Rice - 1 cup
- Lobster Stock - 2 cups, heated
- Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese - 3 oz
- Chives - 4, chopped
- Sea salt and fresh, coarsely ground white pepper to taste
- Unsalted Butter - 3 tablespoons
- Root Vegetables
- Yam - 1 large, peeled
- Beet - 1, peeled
- Carrot - 1 carrot, peeled
- Fingerling Potatoes - 4–6
- Flour - for dredging
- Olive Oil - for deep-fat frying (alt. canola oil)
- Sea salt and fresh, coarsely ground white pepper to taste
- Sea Scallops - 16 large
- Black Truffle - 1-1/2 oz, peeled and shaved into thin slices
- Sea salt and fresh, coarsely ground white pepper to taste
- Virgin olive oil - 2 tablespoons
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Lobster Coral – Butter Sauce
- Unsalted Butter - 1 teaspoon
- Shallot - 1, minced
- Champagne Vinegar - 1 tablespoon
- Dry white wine - 3 tablespoons
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 2 tablespoons
- Lobster stock - 1/2 cup
- Lobster Coral - 3-4 tablespoons
- Unsalted Butter - 1/2 cup
- White Truffle Oil - To taste
Instructions
To prepare the risotto: Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and sweat until they are softened and translucent. Add the rice and stir together, moistening all the rice. Pour 1/2 cup of the lobster stock into the rice and begin stirring. When the stock is absorbed, add 1/4 cup more and stir until absorbed. Continue adding and stirring, 1/4 cup at a time, until all the stock has been added. The rice will cook for 15 to 18 minutes. Stir in the cheese and chopped chives. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the butter to give the rice a creamy finish. Set aside, covered; keep warm.
To prepare the root vegetables: Slice all vegetables wafer-thin on a mandoline or V-slicer. Cut each piece into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Cut one end of each strip in a point. Season with salt and pepper and dredge lightly with flour; spank off any excess flour. Combine the oils to a depth of at least 3 inches in a deep-fat fryer or deep heavy saucepan and heat to 360 F. Fry a few vegetable slices at a time; remove when the slices float to the top and are crisp. Drain on paper towels. Do not crowd the fryer; fry in batches, and let the oil return to temperature between each batch.
To prepare the scallops: Remove the nerve from the scallops and discard. Slit the scallops horizontally 2 to 3 times without cutting all the way through. Slip truffle slices into the slits. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium saute pan or skillet over high heat. Add the scallops and sear on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side, until browned. Remove and drain on a towel. Set aside; keep warm.
To prepare the sauce: Heat the butter in a medium saute pan and add the shallot. Saute over medium-high heat until the shallot softens but does not color. Add the vinegar and wine and cook until the liquid has nearly all evaporated. Add the cream and reduce by one-third. Add the stock and reduce by one-third. Stir in the lobster coral, breaking it apart as it cooks; the coral will turn from dark green to bright coral-red as it cooks. Add half of the butter and shake the pan over the heat until the butter has completely melted. Add the remaining butter and shake the pan again until it is melted and combined. Stir together gently with a whisk.
To serve: Mound risotto in the center of each plate. Arrange 4 scallops around the risotto on each plate. Stand vegetable strips in the risotto, points upwards. Spoon sauce around the plates. Dot the plates with a bit of truffle oil.
