For dinner yesterday, we made sea scallops in a ginger-lime beurre blanc sauce with chermoula on a bed of ramps braised in olive oil and roasted asparagus. This was my first foray into sea scallops, but they may become a Sunday supper staple as the result. The entire meal took about an hour and ten minutes and only required a single band aid for yours truly. ((The bloody grater gets me every time. You’d think by now I’d have scars on my fingers.))
Sea scallops with a ginger-lime beurre blanc on a bed of ramps and roasted asparagus
Ramps
Ramps are wild leeks that grow mostly in the mountains, and since the Hill Country doesn’t really qualify, I was surprised to see these at Whole Foods. I filled up a whole bag, and then the clerk came to tell me they were so rare here that they wouldn’t even be entered into the checkout computer system. I thought he’d take them back and prepared to gobble them up right there in the produce aisle, just to have had a taste, but instead he let us have them for free (!). They were aromatic and a little sweet, a perfect complement to the scallops.
We used this NYT recipe, only with less heat-level-changing since we have an electric stove.
8-10 whole ramps
salt
pepper
olive oil
Wash the ramps, pick off any loose outer layers with your fingers, and cut off the very tips of the roots. Both the white bulbs and the leaves are oh-so-delicious and edible, so you’ll want to keep everything but the gnarly white hairs at the bottom. Dry the ramps using paper towels.* ((The drying minimizes oil sprays. Use a salad spinner or drain in a colander if you’d like to waste fewer paper towels.))
Heat 3-4 millimeters of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, toss the ramps into the pan one by one and stir to coat with olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper, cover, and cook for 10 minutes until soft, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
* If I were to do this recipe again, I’d think about cutting the ramps into smaller chunks. J really liked them whole.
Asparagus
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Peel the skin off the asparagus stalks from the root to the flower blooms. Snap off the bottoms if they feel “wooden.” Cut up asparagus into small rounds. Toss with salt, pepper, and olive oil and place in a pan. Bake for 4-5 minutes until a fork goes through the largest pieces without getting stuck.
Sea scallops (adapted from Gourmet)
Chermoula
Chermoula, with its bite of garlic and the freshness of lime and cilantro, is the traditional Moroccan garnish for fish and seafood, but if you are looking to skip a few steps in this dish, this is the component to omit. I make a large batch and freeze leftovers in an ice cube tray to use later.
2/3 cup minced coriander ((Hack: to mince any herb, turn on your food processor and drop whole sprigs of herbs in a few at a time. The result is fine but not over grated.))
3 crushed garlic cloves
zest of one small lime
1 teaspoon of freshly toasted and ground cumin ((To toast whole cumin, heat a tablespoon of cumin in a non-stick skillet over a medium flame until fragrant, 3-4 minutes. To grind, use a coffee grinder, mortar, or wrap whole seeds in paper and roll over them with a rolling pin 5-6 times, until finely ground.))
Mix all of the ingredients and set aside.
Beurre blanc
Beurre blanc is a traditional French sauce that here gets fused with ginger and lime. The original Gourmet recipe had too much lime for me, so I’ve adjusted the proportions.
Half a small shallot, cut up into small pieces
1/2″-long piece of ginger, grated or cut up into small pieces
We’ll be getting rid of both the shallot and the ginger before serving, so these don’t need to be pretty.
2.5 tablespoons of lime juice
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut up into small chunks and refrigerated
Salt
Chili oil or crushed white pepper ((Black pepper will do just fine, but it won’t look quite as pretty.))
In a dash of olive oil, on medium heat, cook shallot and ginger until the ginger is soft. Pour in lime juice and white wine. Simmer (the mixture should not boil) until only about a tablespoon or two of liquid remain. REMOVE FROM THE HEAT and leave to cool for 5-6 minutes, until it’s cool enough for you to touch. The cooling is critical. If your pan is not cool enough, your sauce may end up turning into a greasy mess. (This is a great time to stick your ramps into a frying pan and your asparagus in the oven!)
After the pan has cooled, on your lowest heat setting, stir in the cold pieces of butter with a whisk one by one. You may have a higher tolerance for risk, but I stirred continuously. As one piece of butter melts into the mixture, add another. Remove the pan from the heat every after every 3 tablespoons or so of butter in order to let the mixture cool. If you see butter begin to separate into oil and foam, remove from heat and whisk.
When all the butter is in, add salt and chili oil (or pepper) to taste. Put the sauce through a strainer and keep warm until serving.
Sea scallops
Sea scallops are the big ones. Near as I can tell, the good ones will be elastic enough to bounce back when pressed with a finger. (Unless your grocery store is way more fun than mine and lets you sneak behind the counter, you can ask the fish guy or gal to poke the goods for you.)
This part is easy. Heat some olive oil in a pan. Rinse the scallops, dry them on paper towels, sprinkle with sale and pepper. When oil shimmers, put the scallops in the pan and cook until golden, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes per side. When both sides have browned, touch the tops to check for doneness. A cooked scallop will feel the same to the touch as the flesh between your thumb and index finger.
Top each scallop with chermoula and beurre blanc and serve.