Scallop skirts and the emulsion resulting from their stock provide an incredible back bone for this dish. The cocoa powder is there to both increase the dishes’ astringency (thanks Heston!), but also for its great flavor synergy with borlotti beans.The resulting preparation is rich, incredibly earthy and deep in flavor and taste, but also deliciously savory. Only use the freshest of scallops.
Makes 2 scallops
Ingredients
Borlotti beans
100g shelled Borlotti/cranberry beans
200g filtered, cold water (cold water will prevent the contents to bubble over in a sous vide machine)
0.5g sodium bicarbonate (bicarb is generally added during the cooking process to speed the cooking process while preserving the outer shell of each bean, making them pristine)
Dried scallop roe
Scallops roe
Koji paste (100gkoji inoculated rice, 200gwater)
Scallop skirt stock
750gskirts stock
700gwater
100gdried scallop roe, crushed
25gsalt
30gneutral cooking oil (grapeseed or canola work best)
To serve
40g borlotti beans
30g scallop stock
15g butter
0.9g salted kombu
3g lemon juice
1g chopped tarragon
2 xscallop
Osetra caviar
Method
Borlotti beans
Combine beans, water and bicarb in a cooking bag. In a sous vide machine, Vackpack the mixture making sure to remove as much air as possible.Cook for 1 hour and 10 minutes at 90 Celsius in a combination oven at full steam, or a water bath, or even a pot equipped with a probe. After cooking time has elapsed, check doneness.They might need a bit more cooking. Check again in 15’ intervals.Once cooked, remove from heat and allow mixture to cool down for a couple of hours before refrigerating.Refrigerate overnight (allowing your beans to “rest” overnight enables them to retain moisture, it also helps to preserve their shape).
Dried scallop roe
Rinse the scallop roe well and steam it for 8 minutes.While still hot, smoke the product with the help of a smoke gun for 15 minutes.Toss mixture in Koji paste.Hold Koji androe mixture at 40C for 3 hours, covered with a towel.Dry it overnight at 50C and then store it in a container with dried sushi rice, covered with a cloth for at least 1 month.
Scallop skirt stock
Wash the scallop skirt thoroughly to remove most of the sand.Drain the skirts. Add salt liberally to the mixture, mixing it in and working the skirts until it starts to become sticky. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.Rinse the skirts off under copious amounts of water, mixing it through to remove all the salt and sand that will come out during this process. Failure to rinse this thoroughly will result in a salty finish product.Dry the skirts.In a hot sauce pan wide enough to accommodate you’re the scalop skirt in one even layer, place all your skirts and oil and stir fry them rapidly. Once pan cools down and the natural juices of the skirts starts coming out, add the water. Steep them, on a realy low simmer (85-89C) for 30’ with a lid on.Add the crushed roe and infuse for 1 minute. Strain mixture into an ice bath. Cool it down, and refrigerate until later need.
To serve
In a really how non-stick pan sear the scallop till golden brown on both sides. Remove scallop from the pot once it has reached 35C core temperature. Allow them to sit somewhere warm until they reach 40C. While the scallop carries over cooking, proceed to step 2.In a small pot, combine stock and beans and bring them to a simmer. When stock starts reducing, add butter and allow mixture to emulsify naturally, while slowly moving the pan. (make sure liquid is simmering rapidly, throughout).Once desired thickness is achieved add kombu, lemon juice and tarragon. Remove from heat.With your scallops cooked and your beans finished assemble the dish by placing a spoonful of the bean mixture and the seasoned scallps directly above it. Baste whatever extra emulsion you might have over the scallops, top them with tobiko and a general dusting of cocoa powder.
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