Pan-Seared Diver Scallops with...Pan-Seared Diver Scallops with Sunchoke Silk & Jamón Ibérico Dashi

Pristine, caramelized U10 scallops nestled in a velvety sunchoke purée, finished with a deeply savory Jamón Ibérico dashi and vibrant, split chive oil.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   To make the chive oil, blanch the chives in boiling salted water for 10 seconds, then immediately shock in ice water. Drain thoroughly, squeeze out all excess moisture with a clean towel, and blend with grapeseed oil on high speed for 3 minutes until vibrant green. Strain through a coffee filter and set aside.

2. 02

   For the Jamón dashi, place the kombu and 500ml of cold water in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then remove the kombu just before boiling. Add the Jamón Ibérico scraps, simmer very gently for 20 minutes to extract the rich flavor, then strain through a fine-mesh chinois and keep warm.

3. 03

   For the sunchoke silk, place chopped sunchokes in a saucepan with heavy cream and enough water to just cover them. Simmer until completely tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a high-speed blender, add 25g of butter, and process until completely smooth and glassy. Season with salt and keep warm.

4. 04

   Pat the scallops thoroughly dry with paper towels. Season both flat sides generously with fine sea salt.

5. 05

   Heat a heavy cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add a thin film of neutral oil. Once smoking, carefully sear the scallops for 2 minutes without moving them to develop a deep, golden crust. Turn the scallops, add the remaining 25g of butter to the pan, and baste with the foaming butter for 1 minute. Remove immediately and drain on a paper towel.

6. 06

   To plate, spoon a perfect pool of warm sunchoke silk in the center of two shallow heated bowls. Arrange three scallops atop the purée. Gently pour the warm Jamón dashi around the purée base. Split the dashi with drops of the vibrant green chive oil, garnish the scallops with micro shiso, and finish with Maldon flaky salt.