Sea Scallops with Fennel, Blood Orange and Sauce Maltaise
The Zen-man always keeps his promises… and if he doesn’t he’s likely to ignore you when you remind him he’s made one. Yup, that’s just another way of sayin’ he can be full of s**t sometimes but today he’s rather full of sea scallops and willing to share the recipe with you as promised in the last post – which bring us back to the initial bold statement: The Zen-man always keeps his promises. Look at this baby!
Since the season for blood orange is so short it’s always nice to showcase them whenever you can and there’s no better way than to pair them with sea scallops in my opinion. A lot is going on here but at least it’s all going in the same direction (..and toward a fat raise i hope!). There are blood orange segments in the salad and as a garnish, more blood orange juice reduced to a glaze – half of it is used in a orange-sesame vinaigrette, the other half in the Maltaise sauce which is a lighter version of Hollandaise with blood orange juice and zest instead of lemon (comes from Escoffier, try it on steamed asparagus too). The salad is fresh and crisp with raw fennel sliced paper thin and fresh herbs. I think it works.
Sea Scallops w/ Sauce Maltaise
(serves 4)
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Zest of 1 blood orange
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1 1/4 cup blood orange juice
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2 egg yolks
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4 tablespoons butter
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Salt & cayenne pepper
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12 sea scallops, cleaned
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2 tablespoons rice vinegar
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2 teaspoons sesame oil
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2 tablespoons XV olive oil
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3 cups mixed greens and herbs (tarragon, dill..)
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3 blood orange segments
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4 ounces fennel, trimmed and thinly sliced
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Combine the zest and orange juice in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until reduced to 3 or 4 tablespoons. It should form a glaze.
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Mix the egg yolks with 2 tablespoons water and place on top of a double boiler over simmering water. Beat with a whisk until foamy and thick. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter, whisking after each addition to incorporate. Season with salt and cayenne pepper, add up to 2 tablespoons of reduces blood orange juice, and set aside.
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Season the scallops with salt and cayenne. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the butter and sear the scallops on each side until browned. About 2 minutes per side.
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Combine the remaining reduced orange juice, rice vinegar and sesame oil and whisk in the olive oil. Dress the salad and sliced fennel and season to taste. Top with orange sections. Serve with the scallops and the sauce and drizzle with a little bit of dressing.
