Shaved Asparagus Salad
Succulent Scallops in a Carrot, Orange and Cardamon Sauce is an upscale, restaurant quality dinner you can make at home. For a fancy finish, shaved asparagus in a simple vinaigrette makes a beautiful presentation.
Before I share with you how to make this colorful and delectable scallop dish, I’d like to introduce you to Chef Todd Fisher— who is the creator of this recipe.
Just look at that smile! Chef Todd and I share the same home turf– the beautiful Monterey Peninsula (California). Todd and I have crossed paths over the last decade via our church, friends, local food events and I’ve been a frequent customer at his restaurants over the years. He’s a genuinely friendly kind of family man, with a fun and outgoing personality.
After a long and successful run as a partner in a local restaurant, Chef Todd moved into a new direction– while keeping busy with food events all over the country, and balancing time with his wife and children. In a quiet little Monterey Peninsula seaside community called ‘Sand City’,
When Todd announced that he would be teaching a ‘Valentine’s Tribute, Sensual Dinner Three-Hour Cooking Class’– and I saw Succulent Scallops on the menu– I quickly paid my $75.00 and I charged my camera battery.
There were twelve students, and I came with my own knife and a very hungry appetite. Today, I’m going to share with you Todd’s recipe for Succulent Scallops. Todd printed this recipe in our local newspaper, so I figured he wouldn’t mind if I share this with my blog readers.
In a medium saucepan, combine carrot juice, ¼ cup vermouth, orange juice, lemon juice, shallot and salt, bringing it to a boil over high heat– then reducing the heat just enough to maintain a steady boil. Cook the sauce until slightly thickened and reduced to about ½ cup. Whisk in butter one piece at a time, waiting until each piece was melted and incorporated before adding another. (The sauce should be thickened enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon.) Reduce the sauce to a simmer, whisking constantly. Add ground cardamom and removed from heat. Some of the students were delighted to learn why their past attempts yielded tough and rubbery scallops. They were overcooking them. I was once guilty of that until I made this recipe.
Todd showed how important it is to dry the scallops really well, (he seasoned them with just salt and pepper)– and to get the pan really hot; next he adds olive oil and a pat of butter. In a matter of about 3 minutes, he had a platter of these gorgeous scallops:
Succulent Scallops in a Carrot, Orange and Cardamom Sauce
Ingredients
Scallops and sauce:
- 1 cup carrot juice
- 1/2 cup dry vermouth
- 3 Tbsp orange juice
- 1 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 small shallot
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 T. olive oil
- 2 T. chilled unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces
- tsp. ground cardamom
- 4-6 large sea scallops patted dry
Shaved asparagus salad:
- 6 spears large asparagus snapped off at the fibrous ends
- 2 Tbsp Italian flat leaf parsley chopped
- 1 small shallot slivered
- 2 Tbsp champagne vinegar
- Zest of 1/2 an orange
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper
- 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
For the sauce:
- In a medium saucepan, combine carrot juice, ¼ cup vermouth, orange juice, lemon juice, shallot and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat just enough to maintain a steady boil. Cook until slightly thickened (it should resemble the consistency of pulpy orange juice) and reduced to about ½ cup. 10 to 15 minutes.
- Reduce heat, and very gently simmer the carrot reduction. Whisk in butter one piece at a time, waiting until each piece is melted and incorporated before adding another. The sauce should be thickened enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon.
- Return the sauce to a simmer, whisking constantly. Add the ground cardamom and remove from heat.
- Heat oven to 175 degrees. Turn off the oven, and place a platter in it to warm.
For the scallops:
- If the scallops have small, loosely attached, rectangular pieces of white muscle on their sides, pull them off and discard. Pat the scallops dry with paper towels and season all sides lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan over high heat until it is very hot and smoking. Using tongs, carefully place the scallops flat side down in the pan. Let the scallops cook undisturbed until they are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn, and cook until the other side is browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer scallops to warmed platter. Reduce heat to medium, and pour in remaining ¼ cup vermouth. Scrape up browned bits, then add carrot sauce and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. Taste, and adjust seasoning.
- For a smooth texture, pass sauce through a very fine strainer. If the sauce begins to separate or the butter comes to surface in droplets, blend the sauce for a few seconds using an immersion blender.
For the Shaved asparagus salad:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the champagne vinegar, orange zest, mustard, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in oil to emulsify.Using your peeler, shave the spear of asparagus over the dressing and toss to marinate slightly. Add chopped parsley and shallot. Let set till ready to serve. This should be done no more than 15 minutes before serving.
Plating:
- Divide scallops among warmed dinner plates, and pour carrot sauce around them. Top with Shaved Asparagus Salad and enjoy!
this looks fantastic! the asparagus is beautiful like that!
How I wish I lived near you. That would be such fun. That sauce is gorgeous. Thanks for all of the great pictures. I learned a lot. And the scallops were perfectly cooked too.
I smiled when you said you brought your knife. When we went to France for two months, we rented a house and planned to cook a lot, so I took two of our own knives with us. I wrapped the knives carefully and of course our bags were opened, but the knives arrived safely and we used them everyday. There's nothing like your own knife.
Have a wonderful Valentine's day.
Sam
I remember Todd well from Foodbuzz and his love for porchetta. Of course I wish I lived closer so that I could enter one of his classes but I will live vicariously through you Debby.
What an awesome experience! This is such a gourmet meal…the kind of thing I would expect to eat at a high end restaurant. Love that you can make it at home!
Whoa! What a feast for my eyes indeed, Debby! Great to "meet" Chef Todd. Great post, thank you!
When I first saw the photo, I thought this is a meal from a fancy restaurant – and it was practically, except you cooked it. What fun to take that class.
I would love to take a hands-on class like this, Debby. The scallops look delicious and I'm looking forward to your pork recipe.
I hope you enjoy a very Happy Valentine's Day.
So not fair! I just got a list of prohibited foods, which included scallops, shrimp, lobster, and crab. BUMMER,because this looks fantastic.
Wow! Love the addition of cardamom! Looks and sounds fabulous!
Congratulation Chef Todd for preparing a delicious and mouth watery food. I love the design of your preparations.
Yumm! I have always liked scallops but I really fell in love with them at the Foodbuzz dinner, they were amazing. And I love Chef Todd, what a nice guy! So lucky that you had a chance to learn from him! Such a good experience and the menu sounds delish. I wish I was there.
What a wonderful friend/chef you found in California! Lucky girl.
The almondine looks beautiful too!