When I'm cooking for myself, I think it is best to treat myself to a fun, "gourmet" meal every now and then - I'd say at least once a week. Sunday nights are a perfect forum for doing this because you can go out during the day and grab the ingredients for whatever strikes your fancy and then spend a quiet and relaxing evening inside with the comfort of an exquisite meal (or so you hope) and a glass of wine.
It's rare that I will go to the store and purchase a piece of chicken or steak all on my own simply because these are not typically the meats that I crave. Fish or seafood is typically my idea of palate perfection and tonight I wanted some of those wonderful sea scallops that I had been craving last week and had to settle for bay scallops instead. Though those were delicious in their own right, they were not perfectly seared, large, sweet, tender sea scallops.
Of course, needing an ispiration for what to make along with my scallops, I opened my refrigerator door to find some fava beans that needed to be used. Then it was the question - to eat the beans whole or in a puree. Puree won - how fun - a meal all set - for one!
(originally was not meant to be a corny rhyme but as my fingers kept typing, it somehow morphed into one...sorry)
Note on my portioning for the recipe - the recipe says it is a 4 serving recipe. This is probably fairly accurate (with hopes that you serve something along with this). I did a one serving scallops (4 large ones) and then made 2/3 recipe of the fava bean puree. That was probably a little much for one person but it was oh-so tasty that I had no problem finishing it. Rather than the puree being an accompaniment - it was a solid side dish for me. If you want a lot of the fava bean puree - I'd suggest portioning 1/2 recipe per person.
Pan-Roasted Scallops with Fava Bean Puree
For the fava bean puree:
(reminder - I did 2/3 of this recipe)
1 cup fava beans
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cloves garlic
1 sprig fresh thyme or a pinch of dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 small Idaho potato
1/2 cup chicken stock, plus extra
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
For the pan roasted scallops:
(reminder: I made 4 scallops - used butter instead of EVOO - probably 2 tsp.)
1 pound sea scallops
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the fava bean puree:
1. Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Remove the outer shell of each fava bean. Blanch the fava beans in the boiling water until they are bright green and tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the beans and plunge them into the ice bath. When cool, drain and dry on paper towels.
2. In a small sauce pot, cook the onion, garlic, thyme, pinch of salt, fresh pepper and olive oil over medium heat until the onion begins to wilt, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock.
3. Peel and dice the potato and add it to the pot. Cook, uncovered, until the potato is completely tender, about 20 minutes. Add a splash of chicken stock as needed to prevent the mixture from drying out.
4. If using fresh thyme (I did), remove it now. Puree the potato mixture in a blender or food processor. Add the fava beans and puree. Add chicken stock by the tablespoon until the consistency is pourable. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
For the scallops:
1. Season the scallops with salt and pepper.
2. Add the oil (butter) to a sauté pan and heat over high heat.
3. Add the scallops to the hot pan and sear for about 2 minutes on each side.
4. To serve, place 1/4 cup (or a huge mound like me) of the fava bean puree in the center of a warmed plate and top with the scallops.
Holy mackerel! Heaven! My comments are probably starting to sound like Rachael Ray who is so "wowed" by everything that I have a hard time believing that everything is just out of this world amazing - but I have to say, I'd be happy to get this in a restaurant. The scallops were soooo tender and sweet. I texted Derek while I was eating them that he has to try my scallops sometime because I have to admit that I've had some good success in my time cooking those bad boys. I would maybe even add a little more butter and a little higher heat so I could get even more of a sear on them, but they were quite tasty as they were.
As for the fava bean puree - complete deliciousness. The thyme and reduced chicken broth (reduced from long cooking time) created a flavor combination that was lively and comforting at the same time. I did have to keep adding some broth to the potatoes as they were cooking so they would remain in liquid. They are as comforting as mashed potatoes (probably because they have mashed potatoes in them) but have some nutiritional perks too so it is a perfect blend with the light scallops.
Served this with a few slices of my fresh-from-the-oven rosemary bread, poured myself a glass (ok, two glasses) of chardonnay and thoroughly enjoyed my solo Sunday evening.
It's rare that I will go to the store and purchase a piece of chicken or steak all on my own simply because these are not typically the meats that I crave. Fish or seafood is typically my idea of palate perfection and tonight I wanted some of those wonderful sea scallops that I had been craving last week and had to settle for bay scallops instead. Though those were delicious in their own right, they were not perfectly seared, large, sweet, tender sea scallops.
Of course, needing an ispiration for what to make along with my scallops, I opened my refrigerator door to find some fava beans that needed to be used. Then it was the question - to eat the beans whole or in a puree. Puree won - how fun - a meal all set - for one!
(originally was not meant to be a corny rhyme but as my fingers kept typing, it somehow morphed into one...sorry)
Note on my portioning for the recipe - the recipe says it is a 4 serving recipe. This is probably fairly accurate (with hopes that you serve something along with this). I did a one serving scallops (4 large ones) and then made 2/3 recipe of the fava bean puree. That was probably a little much for one person but it was oh-so tasty that I had no problem finishing it. Rather than the puree being an accompaniment - it was a solid side dish for me. If you want a lot of the fava bean puree - I'd suggest portioning 1/2 recipe per person.
Pan-Roasted Scallops with Fava Bean Puree
For the fava bean puree:
(reminder - I did 2/3 of this recipe)
1 cup fava beans
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cloves garlic
1 sprig fresh thyme or a pinch of dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 small Idaho potato
1/2 cup chicken stock, plus extra
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
For the pan roasted scallops:
(reminder: I made 4 scallops - used butter instead of EVOO - probably 2 tsp.)
1 pound sea scallops
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the fava bean puree:
1. Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Remove the outer shell of each fava bean. Blanch the fava beans in the boiling water until they are bright green and tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the beans and plunge them into the ice bath. When cool, drain and dry on paper towels.
2. In a small sauce pot, cook the onion, garlic, thyme, pinch of salt, fresh pepper and olive oil over medium heat until the onion begins to wilt, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock.
3. Peel and dice the potato and add it to the pot. Cook, uncovered, until the potato is completely tender, about 20 minutes. Add a splash of chicken stock as needed to prevent the mixture from drying out.
4. If using fresh thyme (I did), remove it now. Puree the potato mixture in a blender or food processor. Add the fava beans and puree. Add chicken stock by the tablespoon until the consistency is pourable. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
For the scallops:
1. Season the scallops with salt and pepper.
2. Add the oil (butter) to a sauté pan and heat over high heat.
3. Add the scallops to the hot pan and sear for about 2 minutes on each side.
4. To serve, place 1/4 cup (or a huge mound like me) of the fava bean puree in the center of a warmed plate and top with the scallops.
Holy mackerel! Heaven! My comments are probably starting to sound like Rachael Ray who is so "wowed" by everything that I have a hard time believing that everything is just out of this world amazing - but I have to say, I'd be happy to get this in a restaurant. The scallops were soooo tender and sweet. I texted Derek while I was eating them that he has to try my scallops sometime because I have to admit that I've had some good success in my time cooking those bad boys. I would maybe even add a little more butter and a little higher heat so I could get even more of a sear on them, but they were quite tasty as they were.
As for the fava bean puree - complete deliciousness. The thyme and reduced chicken broth (reduced from long cooking time) created a flavor combination that was lively and comforting at the same time. I did have to keep adding some broth to the potatoes as they were cooking so they would remain in liquid. They are as comforting as mashed potatoes (probably because they have mashed potatoes in them) but have some nutiritional perks too so it is a perfect blend with the light scallops.
Served this with a few slices of my fresh-from-the-oven rosemary bread, poured myself a glass (ok, two glasses) of chardonnay and thoroughly enjoyed my solo Sunday evening.
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