Seared Sea Scallops and Cauliflower Purée a Recipe
Ashley Tinker · Fish & Seafood · Main Course · Provencal Recipes · TasteCompleting a DIY home renovation in Provence is not necessarily for every couple. Ashley and Robin made their house transformation look easy. Now, with some time on their hands, they can enjoy their kitchen and entertain friends. This recipe for seared sea scallops on a cauliflower purée could be served in a gourmet restaurant. Ashley admits she can only take credit for the photo (after all she is the photographer in the family), but the preparation was by chef Robin. Follow this link to the original post.
Recipes with Scallops
Butternut Squash Soup with Roast Scallops from Jane’s kitchen at Mas d’Augustine
Seared Scallops (St. Jacques) with Creamy Curried Leeks from David at Cocoa&Lavender
Roasted Scallops on Polenta Mash by Mirabeau Wine
Seared Sea Scallops and Cauliflower Purée
Scallops are easy to cook, once you know how. This recipe with a cauliflower purée is light and flavourful. This is a recipe from Robin's repertoire. I take no credit! This recipe is simple, looks stunning and it's delicious. A great way to impress dinner guests.
Ingredients
- 1 cauliflower broken into small pieces
- 1 litre milk semi-skimmed or whole
- 12 scallops the best quality and as dry as possible
- 4 strips bacon or lardons
- 3 sprigs parsley chopped finely for serving
- salt and pepper
- butter for frying
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F and place the bacon on a tray lined with baking parchment.
- Bake for about 15 minutes until very crispy. If your bacon is quite fatty, you may need to drain the fat halfway through. Reserve on kitchen paper towel.
- Place the cauliflower into a saucepan with enough milk to just cover it.
- Bring the milk to a boil and simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft. Leave to cool.
- Purée the mixture until smooth. Sieve for extra smoothness.
- Place back into the saucepan to reheat.
- Season liberally with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pat the scallops dry with kitchen paper. This is the key to allow them to become crispy.
- Place a frying pan on medium-high heat and add a generous tablespoon of butter.
- Allow the butter to melt and the pan to get hot.
- Fry the scallops for 1-2 minutes on each side depending on the size. The scallops above are quite large so they were 2 minutes each side. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your frying pan.
- Season the scallops with salt and pepper while in the pan.
- Squeeze the bacon in the paper towel into create little bits.
- Chop the parsley.
- Dish out the reheated cauliflower purée to just cover the bottom of your plate. Next, place the scallops on the plate with the garnish. It helps if you have an extra pair of hands to assist with this step.
- Drizzle with good quality olive oil and serve with crisp white wine.
Notes
This recipe serves 4, with 3 scallops per person.The scallops should be served HOT so make sure you have your garnishes (bacon and parsley) ready.The scallops should be cooked but remain a bit translucent in the middle after frying, the way a restaurant would serve them. Overcooked scallops are rubbery.For some extra spice, use pan-fried crispy chorizo instead of bacon.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence – Montagne St. Victoire: Full-day Wine tour from Marseille
Embark on a full-day wine tour from Marseille or its surrounding cities to the captivating Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, the westernmost vineyards of Provence.
Book this ExperienceLegal
All rights reserved. Perfectly Provence articles and other content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten (including translations into other languages) or redistributed without written permission. For usage information, please contact us.
Syndication InformationAffiliate Information
As an Amazon Associate, this website earns from qualifying purchases. Some recipes, posts and pages may have affiliate links. If you purchase via these links, we receive a small commission that does not impact your price. Thank you in advance for supporting our work to maintain Perfectly Provence.
Related Provence Articles
Crispy Goodness Cauliflower Gratin with Goat Cheese
January 25, 2023
A gratin or gratinée in French is typically a side dish served in an oven-proof casserole pan. The term comes from gratter (to grate); most of the time, these are savoury recipes with a crispy cheese and breadcrumb topping. However, there are recipes for sweet gratins as well. Gratins are very flexible. They make great …
Seared Salmon with Morels a Spring Recipe
April 12, 2023
Certain foods are harbingers of the season. Asparagus, fresh peas, and morel mushrooms are culinary ingredients often associated with springtime. Sure, you can find all three during other periods of the year. But honestly, is there anything better than fresh asparagus in the spring? This recipe for seared and roasted salmon combines these lovely flavours. …
Sous Vide Poached Halibut in Butter a Lighter Recipe
July 28, 2023
Until recently, I had never poached anything solely in butter. When Provence WineZine friends Susan and Towny gave me some vanilla salt, I wanted to use it as a finishing salt for halibut poached in butter. I googled “butter poached halibut” and was alarmed to find that fully submerging four fillets required two pounds of …
Provencal Feta and Sardines a Recipe for Wine Pairing
February 28, 2022
Salty food and oily fish is a wine pairing challenge. However, nothing that Cocoa & Lavender wasn’t willing to try. Taking inspiration from southern France, this delicious warm platter of feta and sardines paired beautifully with two Acquiesce wines. Producing only Rhône-style white and rosé wines, Acquiesce Winery is a maverick in Lodi appellation. The …
3 Comments
Thanks, Ashley! I look forward to trying this soon. Scallops and cauliflower are two of our favorites!
Thanks, David. Just like yours, Ashely’s photos make me want to make the recipes!
Bon Appetit!