Scallop Challenge

I haven't had a "DANG!" moment in the kitchen like this for a while.  A "DANG!" moment is when I make something that is soooo tasty that I literally say "DANG!" when I take that first bite.  It's usually followed by what one class of former students at Bauman College called "the growl"...... I think it's more like a purr, but who am I to say.

This particular Dang Moment came from a recipe I developed for a book that a nutritionist I work for has coming out later this year.  I was tasked with developing 25 recipes, in specific categories, with specific considerations: no gluten, dairy, soy for one (or three, I guess).

One request was for a seafood recipe, preferably shrimp or scallops.  I'm allergic to shrimp, so if I can't taste it, I don't want to put it in a book.  So I went, lovingly, with scallops.  I DIG scallops, but I usually like to cook them in some kind of a cream sauce.  But I can't use cream for this assignment.  So.....let's use coconut milk.  Oh how I love a challenge!

I must confess I got the idea for the sauce from my friend Francesca when we made a roasted red pepper coconut and pea sauce for a chicken dish we made at The Ceres Community Project. I played around with it a smidge, and made a sauce perfect for delicate scallops.

Let's start with roasting a couple yellow bell peppers....

 

You can do this a few ways.  My favorite is to place them on my gas flame and keep turning them until fully (or as best you can get) blackened.  You can also place them under the broiler, if you don't have a gas stove, and also keep turning until blackened, or you can roast them at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes, turning occasionally until blackened.  Do you get the goal here...."blackened."

Once your peppers are sufficiently roasted, place them in a  bowl and cover with a plate to "sweat" them, or place them in a paper bag and fold the bag down tight to  capture the heat.  Let it sit for at least 20 minutes, and the skin will slide right off.  Take out the seeds , stem and membrane and chop them up.

While the peppers are roasting, cook diced onion in oil until soft and lightly browned.  Then put the onion, chopped peppers and coconut milk in a blender and puree.  Add a little lime juice and salt and you're all set with the sauce.

You want to wait til that's ready before you start cooking your scallops, because scallops cook so quickly....

Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel and season with sea salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a large skillet (cast iron gives you the best sear - crispy edges) and wait til oil is good and hot - I wet my hand and spritz a little water in the skillet; if it sizzles, you're good to go.  Place the scallops in skillet, careful not to overcrowd the pan - work in batches or use 2 skillets.  Sear for about 3 minutes, flip and cook an additional 3-5 minutes until crispy outside and soft inside.

Remove scallops to plate and tent with foil to keep warm.  Pour coconut-pepper mixture in the skillet  and along with some basil leaves and cook a few minutes until warm.

Peel one zucchini per person and mound into individual bowls.  Add three scallops and pour some sauce (to your liking) over the whole dish.

I made this the other night when a friend came over who "hates" coconut.  Sorry, but this is what I'm testing.  I offered to make something else for him, but he didn't want me to go to the trouble (got to love that!), so he tried it...... he asked for seconds!!  I think that says it all..... well, plus a "DANG!"

Seared Scallops in Sweet Pepper-Coconut Sauce

Serves 4 

2 yellow bell peppers

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 can coconut milk

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 dozen large sea scallops

Sea salt &freshly cracked pepper

¼ cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves

4 zucchini

·         Preheat broiler with a rack in the upper third position (not directly under the broiler, but the next rung down) 

·         Line a baking sheet with foil and broil peppers, turning occasionally, until blackened on all sides, about 20 minutes. (Alternately, if you have a gas stove, you can roast each pepper over the flames, turning occasionally, until blackened on all sides, about 10-12 minutes.

·         Remove peppers and place in a large bowl and cover with a plate to sweat the peppers for 15-20 minutes, or place in a paper bag and fold & tighten the bag to sweat them.

·         Meanwhile heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet – preferable cast iron – over medium meat.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and lightly browned, about 4- 5 minutes.  

·         Remove onions from skillet and place in a bowl.  Wipe out skillet, removing all onion pieces.  Set aside.

·         Remove skin, stem and seeds from peppers, chop roughly and add to bowl with onions.

·         Transfer onions and peppers to blender and add coconut milk, lime juice and a pinch of salt.  Blend for about 30-45 seconds or until smooth.   Set aside

·         Pat scallops dry with a paper towel and season one side with salt and pepper.

·         Heat remaining tablespoon oil in skillet over medium high heat.  When hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle, add half the scallops, seasoned side down, and season the remaining side with salt and pepper.  Cook 3-4 minutes per side, until a crisp, brown crust forms.

·         Transfer cooked scallops to a pate and tent with foil to keep warm

·        Add remaining 6 scallops, adding more oil if necessary.  Remove to tented plate.

·       Add coconut-pepper mixture and basil leaves to skillet to warm, just 2-3 minutes.  Meanwhile peel the zucchini into thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler and place in on individual plates or bowls.

·         Place 3 scallops on each of the zucchini “noodles” and top with sauce.

 

 

Cook Happy!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchilada Bake

Three days a week I get to spend the day with these lovely ladies in the Natural Chef program at Bauman College.  It is one of the most rewarding, and fun, experiences for me.  As their kitchen manager, I boss them around a lot (but they secretly like it, I'm sure), I look out for them, I feed them, I learn from them, and hopefully, they from me.

At the beginning of the semester I had to cook lunch for them each day until they had taken the requisite classes that would allow them to enter the kitchen.  Now I am back to cooking for them as they begin their business classes.  I asked them the other day what they would like me to fix, and they almost unanimously said, "Can you make that enchilada dish you made back in March?"  Happy to not reinvent the wheel, I was eager to comply.  The students have various food allergies and intolerances, so coming up with dishes that are gluten-, dairy-, and soy-free is not always the easiest thing.  But this meets all those requirements, and well, it's dang good!  The recipe looks a little daunting (i.e long!), but it's really very easy....don't be afraid!

First I roast these veggie to make a tomatillo salsa: tomatillos, onions, garlic, jalapeno, and tomatoes. Pop these in the oven with the sweet potatoes (no, no pic of the sweet potatoes, they're not sexy).  Only takes about 25 minutes.  Remove the stem and seeds from the jalapeno, and the stems from the tomatoes, and puree in a food processor with a little olive oil.  Soooooo yummy!

While that's happening, roast a couple poblano or pasilla peppers over a flame or broil them if you don't have a gas stove.

When the sweet potatoes are done, scoop out the flesh and mash with a little lime juice, cumin and coriander.

Mash the beans with a little lime juice and salt.

Chop the poblano pepper into bite-sized pieces.

Get your salsa ready, and here we go.....

I like to lay the tortillas flat, rather than rolling- it's just easier, and I dig easier! 

Pour enough salsa to cover the bottom of an 11X7 baking dish. Lay 4 tortillas on top, then place half the sweet potato mixture, half the black bean mixture, and half the peppers on top of the tortillas.  Pour on a little more salsa to cover.  Top with 4 more tortillas and the remaining sweet potato, black beans and pepper.  Add a little more salsa, and then top with remaining 4 tortillas.  Cover the top with salsa.  Bake for about 25 minutes, and top with sliced avocado.  Yep, you can thank me later!  The ladies requested this again for a reason, peeps!

I served it with cilantro lime rice (now you've got that complete protein thing going), and a refreshing watermelon, mint and arugula salad, with a honey-lime dressing.  Happy dance, for sure!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchilada Bake

Serves 6-8

Sweet potato mixture

3 lbs sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons lime juice

½ teaspoon sea salt

Tomatillo Salsa

1 ½ lbs tomatillos, remove husks and rinse

2 medium onions, peeled and quartered

2 large heirloom tomatoes

1 jalapeno pepper

4 medium cloves garlic, skin removed

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon pepper

Black Beans

2 cans black beans

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons coriander

2 poblano or pasilla peppers

12 corn tortillas

1 avocado, thinly sliced

·         Preheat oven to 400°.

·         Pierce sweet potatoes all over with a fork.  Place on a parchment paper-lined- baking sheet and bake 45-60 minutes until cooked through.  Remove from oven and let cool until ready to handle.

·         Meanwhile place tomatillos, onions, tomatoes, jalapeno, and garlic on a parchment paper-lined- baking sheet and roast in same oven for 20-30 minutes until blistered and browned.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Remove stem and seeds from jalapeno.

·         Puree roasted vegetables in a food processor or blender, with lime juice, oil, salt, cumin and pepper.

·         When potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove skin and mash pulp in a large bowl.  Add lime juice and salt, stirring to combine.

·         In a separate bowl, mash beans slightly, adding lime juice, cumin and coriander.

·         Chop peppers and set aside.

·         To assemble, lightly cover the bottom of an 11X7 baking dish with salsa.  Top with 4 tortillas, half the sweet potato mixture, half the black bean mixture, half the peppers, and a little more salsa. Repeat with another layer using the remaining half of the sweet potatoes, beans and pepper.  Add a little more salsa and cover with 4 more corn tortillas.  Cover the top with salsa and bake 20-30 minutes until cooked through.  Top with sliced avocado.