Pan-Seared Dayboat Scallops with...Pan-Seared Dayboat Scallops with Sunchoke Purée & Hazelnut Brown Butter

Perfectly caramelized U10 scallops over a velvety sunchoke purée, finished with a nutty hazelnut brown butter and pickled shimeji mushrooms.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Pat scallops completely dry with paper towels. Place them on a plate lined with fresh paper towels and refrigerate uncovered to dry the surface further.

2. 02

   In a small saucepan, combine champagne vinegar, sugar, 50ml of water, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then pour over the trimmed shimeji mushrooms. Let sit at room temperature to quick-pickle.

3. 03

   In a medium saucepan, combine chopped sunchokes, heavy cream, and enough water to just cover the sunchokes. Simmer over medium heat until fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a high-speed blender, add 20g of butter, and blend until completely smooth and velvety. Season with fine sea salt and keep warm.

4. 04

   To make the noisette (brown butter), melt remaining 80g of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Swirl constantly until the milk solids turn a rich golden brown and smell nutty. Immediately stir in the chopped hazelnuts, remove from heat, and season with a pinch of salt.

5. 05

   Heat grapeseed oil in a heavy cast-iron skillet over high heat until just smoking. Season the chilled scallops generously with sea salt on both sides. Place them in the hot pan, leaving ample space between each scallop.

6. 06

   Sear without moving for 2 minutes to build a deep, golden-brown crust. Gently flip, add 1 tablespoon of the hazelnut butter to the pan, and baste the scallops for 30 seconds. Immediately transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to rest.

7. 07

   To plate, spoon a generous pool of warm sunchoke purée onto each of the two plates. Arrange three scallops atop the purée. Drizzle with the hazelnut brown butter, scatter the pickled shimeji mushrooms around, and garnish with wood sorrel and a delicate sprinkle of fleur de sel.