Author Notes
This is my spin on a restaurant dish I had a few years back that paired scallops with lentils, an apple cider reduction, and a mascarpone cream...it was delicious. I've always loved earthy flavors with my scallops, and particularly like Puy lentils which have such a lovely bite to them. The smoky bacon and the sharp mustard are a nice play against the sweetness of the scallops, and as for the fennel cream....what doesn't taste better with a little fennel cream? - Oui, Chef —Oui, Chef
Test Kitchen Notes
The delicate, sweet flavor of scallops is perfectly matched with this fennel cream, itself loaded with sweet fennel flavor and very pure in texture from the fine straining (eating the cream with a spoon, as commenters have fantasized about below, would not be out of the question). The lentils are richly flavored with fennel and hints of dijon throughout, with occasional thrilling bites of lardon. Don't neglect to season them at early stages and to taste at the end. Note: I used a mix of 1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil to sear the scallops, which worked nicely without smoking so long as I kept the heat below full-blast. - Kristen —The Editors
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Ingredients
- For the Lentils
-
3/4 cup
Lentils du Puy, or French green lentils
-
1
carrot, cut in small dice
-
1/2
bulb of fennel, cut in small dice (completely dice a full bulb of fennel, 1/2 will be used here for the lentils, the other half will be used for the fennel cream)?
-
1
shallot, finely minced?
-
1
clove of garlic, finely minced?
-
1/4 pound
of slab bacon, cut into lardons?
-
1
bay leaf
-
1-2 teaspoons
dijon mustard (to taste)
-
2 tablespoons
butter
-
3 cups
water
-
kosher salt and fresh black pepper to taste
-
12
Large Sea Scallops (technically these aren't part of the lentils recipe, but I wanted to make sure they got onto the ingredient list, this recipe calls for 3 large per person, use more or less as desired
- For the Fennel Cream
-
1/2
bulb of fennel, cut in small dice
-
1 tablespoon
shallot, chopped
-
1
clove garlic, chopped
-
1/8 teaspoon
crushed fennel seed
-
1/4 cup
dry white wine
-
1/2 cup
chicken stock
-
1 cup
heavy cream
-
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
-
reserved fennel fronds for garnish
-
zest of 1 lemon, micro-planed
Directions
-
Rinse the lentils with cold water, check for pebbles or other debris and set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of pan, then add the chopped shallot, garlic, fennel, and carrot. Turn heat to medium low and cook gently until softened and just starting to take color. Add the lentils, water and bay leaf, turn flame to high and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and gently cook for 25-30 minutes, until most (if not all) of the water has evaporated and the lentils are cooked just to al dente.
-
While the lentils are cooking, cook the lardons over medium heat until nicely browned and slightly crisp, but don’t render all their fat, you want them with a little chew. Drain on paper towels and reserve.
-
You can also make the fennel cream while the lentils are cooking. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, cook garlic, fennel, fennel seed, and shallot in a little olive oil until translucent. Add the wine, turn up the heat and reduce until almost all the liquid is gone. Add the stock and reduce in the same manner. Add the cream and reduce by half, remove from heat and let cool slightly. Pour the cream into a blender and mix on high until very smooth. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a small pan, season to taste with salt and pepper and cover to keep warm.
-
When the lentils have finished cooking, strain away any excess water and return the lentils to the saucepan, removing the bay leaf at this time. Add the lardons to the lentils, along with the mustard and butter, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm by the stove.
-
Season scallops with salt and pepper. Working in 2 batches if needed, melt 1 tablespoon butter per batch with oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallops and cook until brown, about 2 minutes per side.
-
Divide lentils among 4 plates. Arrange 3 scallops atop lentils on each plate. Spoon fennel cream around lentils and scallops and serve decorated with a fresh fennel fond, and micro-planed lemon zest.
I am a father of five, who recently completed a two year professional hiatus during which I indulged my long held passion for cooking by moving to France to study the culinary arts and immerse myself in all things French. I earned “Le Grande Diplome” from Le Cordon Bleu, studied also at The Ritz Escoffier and Lenotre cooking schools, and completed the course offerings of the Bordeaux L’Ecole du Vin.
About six months ago started "Oui, Chef", which is a food blog that exists as an extension of my efforts to teach my children a few things about cooking, and how our food choices over time effect not only our own health, but that of our local food communities and our planet at large. By sharing some of our cooking experiences through the blog, I hope to inspire other families to start spending more time together in the kitchen, cooking healthy meals as a family, passing on established familial food traditions, and perhaps starting some new ones.
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