Amaretto Scallops with Coral – Flower and Roasted Garlic Puree
Ok – so this has been a long time coming. I’ve made no secret of my love for Amaretto liqueur and I’ve been meaning to try Trig’s recipes, here and here for months now. Then yesterday, I read Peter’s post for almond-crusted shrimp and I could wait no longer. I had to cook seafood in Amaretto and sharpish. I decided to go with scallops as I could visualise the sticky caramelisation on the outside and when I got to the fishmonger, there were some beautiful king scallops with roe. It was meant to be.
I cooked the roes separately and use them to flavour the cauliflower puree along with some roasted garlic. This was sweet-creamy-perfect under those scallops, with a splash of milk, a pinch of mace, shallots and some finely snipped chives. I must credit Chris with the idea of using the roe in the puree, which I thought was pretty inspired. This way, we got the full flavour of the scallop running through everything. I also grilled some smoked streaky bacon until crisp – some delicious saltiness to give it a kick in the backside. The bacon also works fantastically well with the liqueur.
The Amaretto coating was every bit as good as I’d anticipated and read about. It’s perfect for shellfish and I thank Trig wholeheartedly for encouraging me to use it in this way. This is my new favourite way of cooking seafood. Unfortunately I now have a rather large bottle of Amaretto hanging around…….hic!
Amaretto Scallops with Coral – Flower Puree
6 large scallops with roe
1 small head of garlic, roasted
1 smallish cauliflower
1 small bunch of chives, snipped
A pinch of mace
A splash of milk
A splash of Amaretto liqueur
2 shallots, finely diced
6 rashers smoked streaky bacon
Squeeze of lemon juice
Olive oil
A handful of flaked, toasted almonds, to serve.
Preheat the oven to Gas 6/200C/400F
- Peel the outside paper from the garlic and cut the top off the bulb to expose the end of each clove. Drizzle with oil, then wrap loosely in foil to make a parcel like a dim sum and roast for around 30 minutes, until the cloves are soft.
- Fry the roes for around 30 seconds each side until cooked through.
- Cut the cauliflower into florets and cook in boiling salted water.
- Gently sauté the shallots until opaque then squeeze the cloves from their jackets and add to a food processor with the cauliflower, shallots and roes.
- Blend, then add a splash of milk to loosen the mixture, the mace, chives and a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Grill the bacon until crisp and keep warm.
- Drizzle some olive oil on the scallops, then add them to a very hot pan. They will need a couple of minutes each side, no more. When you are ready to flambe the scallops (after a minute or so), add a splash of Amaretto and tilt the pan (away from you!) to light the alcohol and then let it burn off.
- Serve a blob of the puree, some crispy bacon on top and the scallops on top of that. Scatter over the flaked almonds and serve.
If you like Amaretto try -
a) Putting a shot in a cup of tea and
Category: Fish, Gluten-free, Main Dishes, Vegetables 24 comments »
April 7th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Helen…fabulous job on the Amaretto Scallops! Now you have me wanting to make these too!
Who would have thunk…flambe with Amaretto?
Thanks for the plug and all hail seafood.
April 8th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Oh. My. God…this is amazing, Helen. Absolutely brilliant!!!!
April 8th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Helan, what a fabulous place you have here…will go around this place..thanks for dropping by my blog..hope you will get your hands on arbi and enjoy them!
April 8th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I love Amaretto too – it’s a particular weakness of mine, especially in colder weather. This looks fabulous! It will take some doing to find scallops with roe around here, but it will be 100% worth it.
April 8th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
I think this whole meal is inspired! Great job guys! Looks beautiful and totally original!
April 8th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Always giving me something to think about. Amaretto and Scallops. Hmmm.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
What a creative dish Helen. The flavours sound amazing. As much as I like Amaretto, it was the bacon that did it for me!
April 9th, 2008 at 1:37 am
Looks great! I just made scallops!
April 9th, 2008 at 1:42 am
This sounds so good!! Bookmarked to try.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Hi Helen,
You have a really nice blog with some great recipes and fabulous photos!
My husband would love this dish, and using the Amaretto is a great idea!
Now… what to make with the rest of it!!
April 9th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Ok, your killing me here! This looks amazing! I am so starving.
April 10th, 2008 at 12:55 am
You had me right at the title for this post. This is an awesome combination you’ve got here. Very nice work!
April 10th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Peter – Thank you. I know! The Amaretto is a much under-used ingredient I think!
Mary and Srivalli – Thank you, I’m glad you like the blog.
Fearless Kitchen – It is definitely worth it if you can track then down. I’t always good to meet a fellow Amaretto appreciator.
Jenn – Thank you! I’m glad you found time to stop by – I know how busy you are!
Evil chef mom – Amaretto and scallops is a wonderful combo – I promise.
Jessica – We must be on the same wavelength
Kevin – Let me know what you think if you make it. Feedback always appreciated!
Nicisme – Thank you. The Amaretto won’t last long – believe me…
Simply Gluten Free – Thanks!
Mike – Thanks for stopping by, I’m glad you liked it.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
This looks lovely. Wish I liked scallops but I don’t very much. A crying shame as my neighbour dives off the west coast and in the summer months brings me scallops that he’s bagged that afternoon. The first time he gave me them I didn’t know him very well and was too polite to say “no, thanks” and now it’s been going on for too long for me to say anything!
April 10th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
What a combination…! Using the roe in the puree sounds so obvious now that you say it, but what a stroke of genius. I would have loved to have dined with you when you had this..!
April 11th, 2008 at 12:55 am
I love amaretto and look what you have done with it!
April 11th, 2008 at 6:39 am
This sounds deliciously different and looks beautiful too. You can scallop me every which way, just love it.
ronell
April 11th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Peter G – Thank you! Sorry your comment slipped through the net last time. I was pleased with the bacon idea I have to say! And streaky bacon too…..
Wendy – Oh no! That is such a funny story. What a situation – it’s too late to say anything. I would kill for that opportunity but if you don’t like em, you just don’t like em! Ha ha, had me chuckling all day yesterday…
AnneMarie – Thank you! It was Chris’ stroke of genious I must say.
Cynthia – It is a fabulous drink isn’t it? Try cooking with it!
My French kitchen – I love that! ‘You can scallop me every which way’!
April 11th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
What a fantastic combination of flavors!
Yes, I love Amaretto…
My tongue is just dancing trying to put the salty/sweet/nutty/sea flavors together….
April 14th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Lovely meal. I wish scallops were big in SA……
April 15th, 2008 at 1:43 am
Helen, those scallops are to die for! I would have never thought to splash some Amaretto into them. I’ll have to give it a try next time.
April 15th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Oh My God!!! Amaretto and scallops!!! BRAVA!!!
April 18th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Aloha, Helen,
Great site! And this recipe couldn’t be more timely — I have a couple of shots of Amaretto left but never considered cooking with it, much less on seafood. Those veggie burgers are also on my must-try list — been looking for a really good recipe for a while and haven’t found that keeper recipe yet. Yours looks like a winner! Will be back to browse the archives.
January 3rd, 2009 at 8:36 pm
I’ve actually got a bottle of Amaretto in the cabinet which I haven’t used. I was given it as a present but don’t really like drinking it on its own. At least now I can use it to make a tasty dish. Thanks, Mary.
Marys last blog post..Do you have any cooking questions?