TRUFFLE AND SCALLOP

Three truffle and scallop (sort of) variations

Tartar of Saint-Jacques (scallops) marinated in truffle oil and lemon, truffle slice on a bed of arugula

In fact, I wanted to copy, I mean to try to attempt to approach by 10 miles something supposed to be similar to an iconic truffle and scallop dish created by the starred chef Alain Passard (scallops-truffles chest board). The truth is that I failed totally with the chest board carpaccio and I had to change my plans. Here is the result and, in hindsight, I think it did not too bad at all. And this was delicious… 

Instant seared scallops studded with a truffle stick, with truffle slices and potatoes roasted in truffle oil.

Here, I wanted to replicate a creation by 2-star chef Bruno Oger, the “Saint-Jacques aux Truffes” that my wife and I had the chance to savor in his cuisine guest room in the Majestic hotel in Cannes... Well, with a lot of imagination, this was somehow comparable! Oh que c'était bon!!!

Scallop “gnocchis" and truffle chips in their creamy juice.

This variation was a total improvisation: as the American scallops were far too big and/or my truffles far too small for the second variation dish, I had to “caliber” my scallops with a cookie cutter. Then, I had plenty of trimmings that I didn't know how to use. I tried different solutions but nothing compelling... till I had the idea to copy those "calamari tagliatelle", i.e. squids cut and shaped like tagliatelle. But because of the texture of the scallops, I was only able to cut them in the width and not in the length, hence those "gnocchis", meaning gnocchi shapes... I cooked them in a little bit of truffle oil with shallots, recuperated the juice and reduced it with white wine, added some crème fraîche at the end, whisked it to give it a foamy effect, et voilà...

Not unhappy at all about those results...