Seared Diver Scallops, Curried Cauliflower Purée, Brown Butter, Chervil

Chervil is a close biological and culinary relative to parsley. Often considered a gourmet variant of parsley, chervil tastes similar to its cousin, but with a more delicate, sweet taste, and the faint note of licorice. It pairs great with seafood dishes such as this, but in a pinch Italian flat leaf parsley is a fair substitute.

Seared Diver Scallops, Curried Cauliflower Purée, Brown Butter, Chervil

For this dish, you want to use big, firm sea scallops—the better to sear to a beautiful golden brown. If at all possible, seek out dry packed. For more, see how to buy scallops.

Makes four servings.

Ingredients:

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon gray salt
1/4 cup heavy cream, divided into tablespoons
16 diver sea scallops, preferably dry-packed, foot removed and patted dry
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 lemon, juiced and zested
2 tablespoons chervil, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh chive, chopped
sea salt, to taste
freshly-ground white pepper, to taste

Bring a salted medium-sized stock pot to boil. Add the cauliflower and cook until tender, 8-9 minutes. Drain. In a food processor, combine the cauliflower, Madras curry powder, cayenne pepper, gray salt, and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. Process until a purée, adding more heavy cream, a tablespoon at a time, until smooth and creamy, but still thick enough to weakly hold a shape on the plate.

Season the scallops with sea salt and white pepper.

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter. Once bubbling, add the scallops and raise the heat to high. Cook until golden and crisp on each side, 4-5 minutes total. Reserve the scallops to a warm plate.

Remove from heat. Add the lemon juice and, scrapping the bottom of the pan, deglaze. Add the lemon zest, chervil, and a pinch of sea salt. Stir continually for 30 seconds.

Plated, garnished, and ready to serve

To plate, place a large dollop of cauliflower purée in the corner of a warm plate. Using the back of a spoon, smear about half of the dollop across the plate. Place four scallops on top on top of the smear. Spoon the butter and chervil sauce on top. Garnish with chive and a sprig of chervil. Serve immediately. Pairs well with a dry white wine from Pessac-Léognan, in Graves, on the left bank of the Garonne, in Bordeaux.