Warm Scallop Salad with Rice Vinegar Guacamole and Beaujolais Blanc Pan Sauce

Serves 3 - 4

• 20 oz fresh New England dry-pack sea scallops - about 16 scallops (the ones in the photo here were from New Bedford, Mass.)
• 1 very ripe avocado
• about 4 Tb best extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small clove garlic, pressed
• dash hot sauce
• about 2 Tb rice vinegar
• 3 Tb unsalted butter
• about 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 oz fresh kohlrabi bulb
• very fresh mixed mild salad greens
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 fresh lemon

Shave the kohlrabi into very thin strips. (I used a mandoline.) Toss the strips with 1Tb of the rice vinegar and a little bit of salt. Set aside.

Approximately 20 minutes before you are going to cook them, pat the scallops dry with paper towels. Toss them with 2Tb of the olive oil and a small amount of salt and pepper. Set aside at room temperature.

Peel the avocado. Place in a small mixing bowl with the garlic, hot sauce, about 2Tb of the olive oil, and about 1Tb of the vinegar. Mash thoroughly with a fork. (Adjust the balance of oil and vinegar to taste. You want it slightly more tart than you might expect, to cut the richness of the scallops and the butter to come.) Season conservatively with salt and pepper.

Heat a large non-stick skillet to very hot over a high flame. Set the oiled scallops in the pan on the flat sides, with a little space between. When they start to brown on one side (see photo), turn each one using tongs. They are done when opaque all the way through. Taste one to make sure. This will probably take about 2 minutes per side. When done, set aside. Pour the wine into the pan and reduce by about a third. Remove pan from heat entirely. Whisk in in the butter. Add a few drops of lemon juice to taste.

Place the greens on plates. Decorate with the marinated kohlrabi. Place a large spoonful of the avocado mixture on each plate. Add scallops. Drizzle the pan sauce over the scallops and the salad.

Serve with French bread and a good white Burgundy. I used an awesome, affordable 2013 Beaujolais Blanc purchased at Rosemont Market in Yarmouth. It was $13.99 before any case discount.

Red Pepper Velouté

This sauce is great to have around when you want to add some color and deep flavor to an otherwise too-neutral dish. For example, I made a particularly successful risotto tonight, partly because I threw in maybe a half cup of this good stuff.

1 large red bell pepper, chopped fine
1 large shallot, chopped fine
1 Tb flour
roughly 3/4 cup dry white wine
2 Tb olive oil
1 Tb balsamic vinegar
roughly 1/2 cup homemade chicken stock (optional, but desirable)
roughly 1/2 cup mild tomato sauce or purée (optional, but desirable)
salt
freshly ground black pepper

heavy-bottomed sauté pan or sauteuse, with cover
stick blender

Heat the saucepan over moderately high heat. Add the oil and the chopped pepper. Saute until slightly browned and giving off the characteristic "roasted red pepper" smell, about 5 min. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the shallot and cover. Sweat the shallot-pepper mixture until the shallots are soft and translucent, about more 5 min. Remove cover. Stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in the wine, and the stock & tomato sauce, if using. Otherwise add some good water. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Adjust thickness with stock / water to taste, always starting with less and adding more if needed. You are aiming for a rather thin sauce. Simmer over lowest heat, covered, for another 5 min. Puree thoroughly with the stick blender. Again adjust thickness with stock / water if needed. Season with salt and pepper. If it needs more brightness, stir in a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice and/or Louisiana-style hot sauce. Will keep in fridge for up to a week.