“The photo of the scallops is beautiful. It is meant to inspire and not restrict. It seemed to be one of the most do-able of our recipes and is open to interpretation. The scallops create a clean canvas with which to pair your favorite flavors. The carrots are surprising as a colorful but underrepresented vegetable in an elegant setting. It just shows you with a little mindfulness, what you can create. You don’t need to have exotic ingredients to create something delicious, as long as you are creative,” says Suzette.
For the Scallops
Ingredients
- Size 16/20’s scallops
- Olive oil
- Lemon zest
- Salt
Method
- Place scallops, olive oil, lemon zest and salt in vac bag and vacuum seal.
- Place vacuum-sealed scallops in a circulated water bath at 54°C for 25mins.
- After cooked, ice down until 33°C and then slice scallops.
For the Carrot Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 500ml fresh carrot juice
- 15ml apple cider vinaigrette
- .2% xanthan gum
- salt to taste
Method
- Blend carrot juice in vita-mix with apple cider vinaigrette and then add xanthan gum.
- Once homogenized, season to taste.
For the Red Pepper Gel
Ingredients
- 6 large bell peppers, juiced
- 2 Tien Tsin chilies
- chili flakes
- Gellan gum 1%
- Xanthan gum .02%
- salt to taste
Method
- Bring bell pepper juice and Tien Tsin chilies to boil in small pot, turn off heat, cover and let steep for 10 mins.
- Strain out chilies with fine mesh strainer.
- Weigh reserved juice in grams. Add 1% gellan gum and bring to boil to activate.
- Cool until set in metal 3rd pan.
- Once set blend gel in vita-mix with a small pinch of chili flakes. If need, add water to get desired consistency. Add Xanthan gum just to keep gel from weeping.
- Pass gel through fine mesh strainer to remove chili flake particles.
- Vac to 100% in Cryovac machine in metal 6pan to remove suspended air and brighten color.
For the Carrot ‘Flowers’
Ingredients
- Carrot tips 3in
- Frying oil
Method
- Slice carrot tips into rounds on mini mandolin.
- Bring fry oil up to 250°F, then add sliced carrots.
- Fry until carrots curl up. Drain carrot flowers off onto paper towels and place in dehydrator for 2 hours to crisp up.
To Garnish
- Pulsed Marcona Almonds
- High quality finishing oil to drizzle
- Micro greens/herbs
Recipe courtesy of Suzette Gresham of 2 Michelin-starred Acquerello.