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Bright Sea Scallops with Earthy and Salty Spaghetti Squash and Risotto

Rosemary oil

1 cup of olive oil

3 sprigs of rosemary

Put olive oil and rosemary in small sauce pan over medium heat and bring to simmer for five minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, put into an airtight container.

Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash, 2½ to 3 pounds

1 small shallot, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium sized portobello mushrooms,

2 tablespoons rosemary oil, plus more to drizzle

2 tablespoons butter

2 springs rosemary

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons capers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half, lengthwise. Remove seeds. Drizzle cut side of squash with rosemary oil, and season with salt and pepper, and don't be shy. Place both halves of squash cut side down on foil covered baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes, or until you can easily pierce rind with paring knife. Allow to cool cut side up until you can comfortably handle. Using a dinner fork, shred flesh into spaghetti-like strings. Put on a plate, cover with foil, and hold in a warm location.

Remove stems and soft under part of mushrooms. Using a spoon, scrap gills from under mushroom. Chop mushrooms into smaller dice. In a fry pan or skillet, put rosemary oil and butter and place over a medium high flame. Add dice mushrooms and two rosemary sprigs and saute. The mushrooms will first absorb the fat, then will release their moisture. Once the mushrooms release their moisture, add the shallots and garlic. (If you add the shallots and garlic with you first add the mushrooms, they could burn). Continue to saute until the garlic becomes fragrant. Then add the squash to the pan with the mushroom mixture. Note: the squash is, itself very moist and if you just dump it in, it will clump up. Rather, gently separate squash into four or five hand fulls and sprinkle into pan. Add lemon juice and capers. Toss to coat. Remove to warm platter,

Risotto

4 slices pancetta, ¼-inch thick

1 tablespoon canola oil or similar oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 small shallot

1 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped

1 cup Arborio rice

¼ cup white wine

4 cups chicken stock or broth

¼ cup of Parmesan cheese, grated

Rosemary oil for drizzling

Put stock in sauce pan over low flame to warm. You will only need three cups of stock, but you may lose some stock due to evaporation.

Chop pancetta into ¼-inch dice. Here is when to add the canola oil. But, how much depends on the type of pan you are using. If you are using a stainless steel pan, you will 2 tablespoons of oil to start to render the pancetta. Otherwise it may start to burn and you don't want that. If, however, you are using a nonstick pan, you will only need one tablespoon of oil to get it started. When the oil is hot, add pancetta and saute until fat has rendered and pancetta becomes crispy. Remove to a paper towel covered plate. Set aside. Reserve pancetta fat.

Remove stems and soft under part of mushrooms. Using a spoon, scrap gills from under mushroom cap. Chop mushrooms into dice the same size as the pancetta.

In same pan used for pancetta, remove all but 2 tablespoons of pancetta fat. Over a medium high heat, add butter. Add chopped rosemary and diced mushrooms and saute. The mushrooms will first absorb the fat, then will release their moisture. Continue to saute until the pan starts to dry but being cautious not to burn the mushrooms. You will be adding this to the risotto and you'll want to limit the additional moisture.

Put a medium sized saute pan or other straight sided pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of rosemary oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Add shallots and garlic until fragrant. Add rice and saute until the rice goes from white to opaque. Add white wine, and saute until wine has evaporated. Reduce heat to medium. Now, start to add the warmed up stock. When I make one cup of rice, I add the stock ½ cup at a time. When I make more, I add it 1 cup at a time. Each time you add stock, continue to stir the rice until the liquid is absorbed. When you pull a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan and the rice stays parted, it's time to add more stock. During this time, you need to continue to stir. As the liquid is absorbed, the rice will puff up greatly. The process takes about 20 to 25 minutes. Toward the end, give it a taste to get to know the texture. You want it creamy but not mushy.

As you are about to finish and just before you pull the pan off the heat, fold in the mushrooms and pancetta. Remove from heat and fold in the Parmesan cheese. Place into a bowl and drizzle with rosemary oil.

Scallops

8 scallops; figure on 3 to 4 per person depending on size

Salt and pepper to taste

Paprika to taste

2 tablespoons canola or similar oil

4 tablespoons butter

¼ cup white wine

Fresh lemon juice, from one-half medium sized lemon

1 teaspoons lemon zest

Pat dry scallops with paper towel. Season with salt and pepper, and paprika, all to taste. In a fry pan, over a medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil. When hot, place scallops in pan being careful not to crowd them. You want to caramelize the scallops so resist the urge to touch, move or peek. This will prevent caramelization. In about 3 to 4 minutes, turn the scallops. Add two tablespoons of butter to pan. Tilt pan slightly and using a spoon, baste the scallops. In another 2 to 3 minutes remove to a warm plate, cover with foil.

Pour off fat, and deglaze with wine, lemon juice and lemon zest. Reduce by half, remove from heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons of cold butter to pan. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.

To plate:

Place scallops on a bed of squash, pour sauce over top. This brings together the earthy mushrooms, salty capers and bright citrus sauce. Add a side of risotto. Drizzle the plate with rosemary oil. Dress the plate with chopped rosemary and a sprig of rosemary.

Mike Ek

• The Cook of the Week Challenge contestants' recipes are published exactly as submitted to the judges for evaluation.

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