amanda hesser – Quaker Lasagna

A new and delicious way to serve scallops.

Scallops are lovely things to eat: creamy, savory, and rich. But there is a sameness to many of the recipes that have been promulgated using them and they become boring. When that happens, I turn to a short list of cooks who are reliably inspired either through fresh invention or as curators of the best work to be found.

Near the top of that list is Amanda Hesser, whose extraordinary reworking of the New York Times collection of recipes is endlessly useful. I was mildly dubious about her recipe for Oolong-Crusted Scallops but always willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. And again, she proved to be on the mark.

Ingredients

Juice of ½ orange
Juice of ½ lime
Juice of ½ lemon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Salt and pepper 4 teaspoons Oolong tea leaves
12 sea scallops, with the external muscle removed
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Combine the citrus juice in a small saucepan to almost a simmer.
Season with salt and pepper.
Whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time. Keep heating the mix until all the butter has been mixed in. Then, turn off the heat but keep the sauce warm.
Grind the tea leaves in a spice grinder and place them on a small plate.
Season the scallops with salt and pepper and press each side onto the ground tea leaves.
Heat the oil in a cast iron pan and sear the scallops on both sides.
Place four scallops on each of the four plates and pour the citrus butter sauce around them.

The flavor is unusual and delicious. This makes a great appetizer – or you may increase the number per serving, and make dinner for two.

This recipe comes from the book Genius Recipes under the ultimate direction of Amanda Hesser. The cookbook is essential – if you have it you will use it constantly. And you will give it as a present to all your food friends who don’t already have it. It has an associated food channel on YouTube that features Editor Kristen Miglore, who is an excellent source of great ideas.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons softened butter
2 pounds of Portobello mushrooms sliced into ¼ inch slices
1 cup pearl onions
½ carrot, finely sliced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
I teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of a full-bodied red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 ½ tablespoon flour egg noodles, for serving
Sour cream for garnish

Directions

In a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven, heat one tablespoon of the butter and one tablespoon of the oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms and the pearl onions and sear until they begin to take on some color, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove them from the pan and hold them in a bowl.

Lower the heat to medium. Add the second tablespoon of oil to the pan and add the carrot, diced onion, thyme, a few pinches of salt and grind some black pepper into the cooking vegetable. Cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally until the onions are lightly browned. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Add the wine to the pot, turn the heat up to high, and scrape the pan until all bits sticking to the bottom are released. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the tomato paste and the broth and add the mushrooms and onions along with any juice collected in that bowl. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

In a separate dish (or in your hands) combine the remaining tablespoon of softened butter and the tablespoon of flour into a ball. Add that to the stew. Simmer for 10 more minutes stirring to create a smooth texture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This can be served over polenta, egg noodles, rice, or potatoes. Dollop with the sour cream. You can replace the broth with beef or vegetable broth (the latter if you want a vegetarian version). On a personal note, I would avoid beef broth or bouillon. Not a good flavor. Find a market that produces its own veal broth, or make your own. Or, substitute chicken broth.

Tag: amanda hesser

Oolong Scallops

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