During the various end-of-year meals, seafood and other shellfish are popular. Iodized oysters; generous lobster; gourmet shrimp; addictive langoustines, gourmets love them and put them in the spotlight during the Christmas meal. Among all these delicacies from the sea, the scallop, whether still in its shell or presented in nuts, is the festive product par excellence.
The advantage is that it can be eaten raw in carpaccio or tartare, as well as seared and served with sauce, or dipped in a richly flavored broth. If we cook it, we remember that its heart must remain pearly for perfect tasting, and we avoid cooking too much. A simple round trip in a hot frying pan until you obtain a nice caramelization, a sign that the Maillard reaction has occurred, and it’s good!
Recipe n°1: Risotto venere nero and seared scallops
© Valéry Guedes
To change from the classic white rice, we choose black rice for this recipe. But be careful, this product takes a little longer to cook. On the big day, we therefore anticipate the preparation times for our menu.
How to do it? We peel and chop 2 shallots. We brown them in a frying pan with 3 tbsp. tablespoon of olive oil. Add 300 g of venere nero black rice and leave to brown for 3 minutes. Deglaze with 15 cl of dry white wine, mix until the liquid has completely evaporated. Add ladle by ladle 50 cl of heated fish stock while stirring. When cooking is finished, add 80 g of grated parmesan, then 20 cl of liquid cream and leave to rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Lightly salt and pepper with a grinder.
Peel and finely chop 2 cloves of garlic. In a pan, melt 30 g of semi-salted butter, add the garlic, then sear 16 scallops for 2 minutes on each side.
Arrange the risotto in four deep plates, place the scallops
