Category Archives: Gluten free

Tips for Perfect Mashed Potatoes

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mashedHere are my tips for the perfect potatoes.

1. Select flavorful potatoes to start. I really like Yukon Gold potatoes. I also like russets, which make delicious mashed potatoes.

2. Boil the potatoes in their skins. This keeps the part of the potato you will be using from becoming water logged. Once the potatoes are boiled, remove the skins.

3. Whatever you do, don’t beat the potatoes. Using any kind of a mechanical beater will remove lumps, but it also binds the starches in potatoes and makes them gluier. Instead, I use a potato ricer. Put manageable chunks of the peeled hot potatoes through the ricer into a bowl.

4. Don’t use milk or cream. It creates gloppy potatoes. Instead, melt some unsalted butter (using unsalted allows you to control the amount of salt in your dish) and pour it over riced potatoes. Give the potatoes a quick mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. This keeps the taters fluffy because the fat from the butter coats the starches, keeping it light.

5. Before you serve, taste the potatoes for seasoning and add sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper a little at a time until you get the right seasoning. You need some salt, because salt enhances flavors, but you probably don’t need nearly as much as you think. That’s why I suggest adding a little at a time, tasting, and adjusting as you go.

Roasted Poultry Stock

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stockHow to Make Roasted Poultry Stock

  1. Preheat your oven to 450.
  2. Arrange about four pounds of turkey and chicken wings in a roasting pan in a single layer, and roast for one hour.
  3. Remove the poultry from the pan and add one cup of water to the pan, scraping to remove all of the flavorful browned bits from the bottom.
  4. In a large stockpot, saute two ribs of celery, two carrots, and two onions roughly chopped in a few tablespoons of oil until tender. Add poultry, water from roasting pan, and about one gallon of water to the pot and bring to a simmer.
  5. Meanwhile, wrap 1/2 teaspoon of peppercorns, several sprigs of parsley, several sage leaves, two bay leaves, and several sprigs of fresh thyme in cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine. Drop it in the simmering water.
  6. Simmer, uncovered, for three hours. Allow to cool and strain out solids. Store in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.

You can use homemade stock in gravy, soups, sauces, and stews. It has much better flavor than canned broths.

Ginger Maple Applesauce

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Homemade ApplesauceYesterday was the perfect fall morning at the Olympia farmers’ market. There was a crisp chill in the air, which significantly reduced crowd size. Still, given the offerings available this time of year at the market, the chill was worth it. Along with a dizzying array of organic apples from Washington’s bumper apple crops, there were large ears of corn, juicy plums, chanterelles, squash, pole beans, red and white raspberries, concord grapes, and many others. One of my favorite types of produce from fall in Washington State is pluots. A cross between a plum and an apricot, the pluot is like a juicy, sweet plum. If you come across these tasty stone fruit, give them a try. I think you’ll love them.

As far as I am concerned, however, the star of the show for fall is apples. I love apple season with a passion approaching my love for writing. In fact, as soon as the days grow shorter and the leaves start to change color, I begin cooking with apples. The dogs love it. They gather at my feet as I peel and chop, accepting tiny slices of apple they chew with great gusto. (Tip – never give your pets apple seeds, which contain traces of cyanide.) At the market yesterday, the variety was amazing. Braeburn, Fuji, Jazz, Lady Alice, Gravenstein, Pink Lady, Rose, Honeycrisp…it’s an apple lovers paradise.

I enjoy baking apple pies, crisps, cakes, and turnovers. I also like making a simple applesauce, which I will be making today from the organic Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Jazz apples I bought yesterday.

When cooking with apples, I take a minimalist approach. I like to let the flavors of the fruit shine through. This doesn’t mean lots of sugar or heavy spices. Instead I use just enough to enhance the natural flavors of the apples instead of overpowering them.  Some of my favorite spices to use include fresh grated nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and fresh grated ginger. I also usually use just a touch of lemon zest and lemon juice to prevent the apples from turning brown and bring out the tart notes.

Another trick for baking with apples is using a few different varieties in one dish. For instance, in my pies I often mix Granny Smith and Pink Lady apples. In fact, Pink Lady apples are my favorite eating and baking apples, followed closely by Honeycrisp.

Today, I will be making a simple applesauce. Recipe below.

Ginger Maple Applesauce

  • 4 Pink Lady apples – Peeled, cored, and chopped
  • 4 Honeycrisp apples,  peeled, cored, and chopped
  • 4 Jazz apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 T. fresh ginger root, grated
  1. Place apples and water in a large pot and simmer on the stove top, covered until apples begin to break down, about 15 to 20 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat and stir, mashing apples together.
  3. Stir in ginger root and maple syrup.
  4. If you prefer a smooth applesauce instead of a rustic one, cool and process in a food processor or food mill.

Potato Leek Soup

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potatosoupIt’s been a little blustery here in the Pacific Northwest the past several days. Weather like this makes me want to cook comforting foods that warm the belly. I am also in possession of my last CSA box, which contains beautiful organic leeks and potatoes.

It’s amazing and wonderful the earth gives us warmer, heavier foods as the weather changes. I started in spring with scapes and baby lettuce that made light spring and summer dishes, and have progressed through the season to these wonderful fall delights. Local, seasonal vegetables add variety to the menu, encouraging you to make the most of them as the earth offers them up.

The cold weather and the vegetables are telling me – it’s time to warm things up. While I’ll miss the gorgeous juicy tomatoes, I’m pretty happy with the potatoes and leeks, too. After all, on a blustery fall day when faced with a box of organic, fresh potatoes and leeks, what else is there to make but potato leek soup?

The good news about potato leek soup is it doesn’t have to be difficult. I think all told with my vegetable chopping prep and 20 minutes of simmering on the stove, this recipe took me 30 minutes. My version is minimalist and rustic, allowing the ingredients to speak for themselves.

When cooking with leeks, you need to clean them well because dirt gets trapped between the layers. To clean, chop the leeks and place them in a bowl of cold water. Swirl the leeks around in the water and then empty into a colander. Repeat this two to three times to remove all of the dirt. Allow the leeks to drain in a colander while you chop your potatoes.

Easy Potato Leek Soup

  • 1/2 pound of bacon, chopped
  • 4 leeks, chopped, including green parts
  • 1/4 c. flour (sweet rice flour for gluten-free)
  • 4-5 potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1″ pieces (any work – but I especially love Yukon golds)
  • 6 c. gluten-free chicken stock
  • Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
  • Chopped chives
  1. Cook bacon in a large dutch oven until crisp. Remove bacon from oil with a slotted spoon and set to drain on paper towel.
  2. Add leeks to bacon grease and saute until they begin to soften, about five minutes.
  3. Add flour and stir to combine, cooking for about two minutes to remove raw flour flavor.
  4. Stir in chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove all browned bits.
  5. Add potatoes and bring to a simmer.
  6. Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes, until potato softens.
  7. Remove from heat and process about half of the soup in a blender, leaving the other half chunky. Add pureed soup back to pot and stir to combine. Alternatively, you can puree all of the soup for a smoother preparation.
  8. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  9. Serve topped with crisped bacon and chopped chives.
  10. This is great with a nice salad and a crusty bread.

Note: When you puree hot soup in a blender, be really careful. I once saw my mother spray lentil soup from a food processor all over the kitchen ceiling. This can happen because the pressure of steam builds up during pureeing if you don’t allow it to escape. When pureeing hot soup in a blender or food processor, place a folded towel over your hand to protect it, and allow steam to escape every few seconds.

Cipollini Onions

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cipolliniI scored a true bonanza in this week’s CSA box: cipollini onions. These small, flat onions have an amazing sweetness with less bite than typical onions, and they roast up to a creamy, toasted sweetness. I enjoy roasting them with potatoes or tossing them with a balsamic glaze. If you’ve never tried cipollini onions before, look for them and give them a try. You’ll see exactly why they are my very favorite onion.

Roasted Red Potatoes and Cipollini

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. baby red potatoes
  • 1 lb. peeled cipollini onions
  • 3 tbsp. olive oil
  • Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
  • 2 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Toss onions and potatoes in olive oil and spread on a baking sheet.
  3. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary.
  4. Bake for 40 minutes, until potatoes are soft.

Balsamic Glazed Cipollini (Cipollini Agrodolce)

Ingredients

  • 2 lb. cipollini onions, peeled
  • 1/2 c. unsalted butter (or olive oil for dairy free)
  • 1 tbsp. sugar
  • 1 c. quality balsamic vinegar
  • 1 c. water
  • 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
  • Dash salt

Method

  1. In a 12″ saute pan, melt the butter until it bubbles and foams.
  2. Add the onions, browning on them on all sides, about 10 minutes.
  3. Add sugar, vinegar, and water.
  4. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until onions are el dente.
  5. Remove lid and simmer until liquid reduces to syrup.
  6. Sprinkle with rosemary and salt to taste.

Steamer Clams

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clamsEven though school has started, summer is not quite over. Here in the Pacific Northwest, late summer and early fall offer up gorgeous weather that entices you outdoors before the rainy season begins again.

One of my favorite seasonal dishes for this time of year is steamer clams. While many people head to the beach at low tide to dig for these local delicacies, I typically buy mine at the farmers’ market where someone has already done the majority of the work for me. You might also be able to find small manila clams at the grocery store in the seafood section.

You can purchase steamer clams several hours ahead of cooking and keep them refrigerated or on ice until you use them. Always use steamer clams the same day, and make sure your source is providing the freshest clams possible.

I live in a household that loves clams. Resultantly, I buy them in bulk when I plan to cook them for the main meal. Jim and Tanner by themselves can put down about five pounds of the bivalves and still look around for something else to eat. As an appetizer, however, you can cook fewer.

I prefer making the clams in a simple wine and butter broth redolent with herbs. It not only provides tremendous flavor to the clams, but it also serves as a delicious base for dipping crusty bread to supplement the meal. To round out our traditional late summer supper of clams and bread, I include sweet corn on the cob, a simple green salad with whatever seasonal veggies I have around and a crisp white wine or beer.

Cooking steamer clams isn’t so much a recipe as a series of steps I follow. I don’t really measure – I just toss in ingredients.

How to Cook Steamer Clams

Ingredients

  • Grass-fed butter
  • Chopped shallots or sweet onions
  • Chopped fennel bulb
  • Clams
  • Dry white wine
  • Fresh lemon juice and zest
  • Fresh cracked pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • Chopped fresh tarragon

Method

  1. On the stovetop, melt butter in a large pot.
  2. Saute shallots or onions and fennel in butter until soft.
  3. Add clams, white wine, juice of one lemon, zest from half the lemon, and pepper. Stir to combine.
  4. Cover the pot and allow to steam, stirring occasionally, until all of the clams have opened. Discard unopened clams.
  5. Taste for seasoning and stir in tarragon.

Variation
Replace fennel with chopped garlic and tarragon with chopped fresh basil. Stir in fresh chopped tomatoes with the basil.

Cooking Salmon

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salmonI have a shameful secret. Although I live in the Pacific Northwest, I do not enjoy salmon. It’s nothing personal. It’s more that I just do not like any fish that tastes fishy. That pretty much precludes anything except for halibut, and sometimes even that is over the top as far as I am concerned.

On the other hand, I live in a household of fish lovers, and we frequently entertain other fish lovers. Therefore, in spite of my personal taste, I’ve had to learn to cook salmon. I have two recipes that glean particular praise and are relatively easy. Even I don’t mind eating salmon prepared this way. Love might be going a bit far because I simply do not like fish, but others do love these and I can eat them without gagging. Thanks to Cooks Illustrated, where I learned the perfect method for grilling salmon using a two-level heat system.

Some tips for selecting salmon.

  • Select the freshest fish you can get, and cook it within 24 hours. The flesh should be bright pink, and it should not smell “fishy,” but rather clean and slightly briny.
  • Rinse and dry the fish before you cook it.
  • For best flavor, choose wild caught Pacific salmon. If you’d like a real treat, use these recipes with Copper River salmon when it becomes available in the spring.
  • I prefer cooking filets to steaks. Use pliers to remove any small bones, and cut the salmon into individual-sized pieces to cook.
  • These are grilling recipes. You can alter them for sauteing on the stovetop, however. Heat your pan over medium high heat, add a little olive oil, and saute starting skin side down. It should take about 3 minutes per side. Glaze before flipping the salmon. You can also use an indoor grill like the Foreman grill. Glaze the salmon before placing on the grill. It will take about 2-4 minutes to cook the salmon through.
  • Other glazes that work well with salmon include honey and reduced balsamic vinegar with a little sugar added.

Salmon with Cherry Orange Glaze
Ingredients

  • Juice of one orange and 2 strips of orange zest about 1″ x 1/2″
  • Juice of one lemon
  • One cinnamon stick
  • 3-4 whole cloves
  • 1/2 cup cherry preserves
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup port
  • 1/4 cup marmalade
  • 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne (or to taste)
  • Salmon filets, cut into individual sized pieces
  • Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Method

  1. Over a high heat, bring orange juice and zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves, cherry preserves, and chicken broth to a boil. Lower heat to medium and allow to simmer and reduce by about 1/4 – about 10 minutes.
  2. Remove cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest.
  3. Add port and marmalade and simmer about five minutes.
  4. Dissolve the cornstarch in water and whisk into glaze. Simmer to thicken, about 15 seconds.
  5. Add cayenne and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as needed.
  6. Cool sauce.
  7. Season salmon fillets, and preheat your grill over high heat. Turn off one half of the grill and leave the other on high.
  8. Carefully clean the grill and oil it.
  9. Place salmon on grill over the hot side, flesh side down for one minute.
  10. Flip salmon to skin-side and glaze the top. Allow to cook for 3-4 minutes, until salmon is opaque about 1/2 to 3/4 through the fish. Glaze the salmon with sauce.
  11. Oil the side of the grill with the burners turned off. Flip the salmon flesh side down again onto the oiled part of the grill. Allow salmon to cook through and begin to caramelize, about two minutes. Serve immediately with glaze on the side.
  12. Reglaze the salmon, and serve.

Maple Glazed Salmon
Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • Dash cayenne
  • Salmon filets cut into individual portions
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Preheat grill on high.
  2. Combine maple syrup and soy sauce in a shallow pan.
  3. Place salmon fillets, flesh-side down, in soy/maple mixture and allow to marinate at room temperature, about 15 minutes.
  4. Remove salmon from marinade and pour marinade into a pan. Bring marinade to a boil and simmer to reduce until thick and syrupy. Add cayenne.
  5. Season salmon with salt and pepper.
  6. Clean the grill and turn heat off on one side.
  7. Oil the grill on the hot side.
  8. Place salmon, flesh side down on hot oiled grill, about one minute.
  9. Flip the salmon to skin side down on the hot side and grill for about 3-4 minutes. Glaze salmon.
  10. Oil the cooler side of the grill. Flip the salmon onto the oiled grill, flesh side down, and allow to cook until glaze begins to caramelize, about two minutes.

A classic northwest pairing? Salmon and Pinot Noir. Try a powerful Oregon Pinot from Beaux Frerers.

Lamb Recipes

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rackoflambMany people shy away from cooking lamb for an array of reasons. Some people don’t like it. Others think it is “fancy” food, and it’s true, certain cuts of lamb can be expensive. Some just may not have a clue how to cook it.

I am a big fan of lamb, especially of the pasture-raised, local, grass-fed variety. The meat is tender and flavorful, providing a nice break from routine. The good news is cooking lamb is no more difficult than preparing any other meat.

Some find lamb gamey in flavor. The best way to remedy this is to trim away the fat before you eat it (but not before you cook it – the fat is essential in cooking lamb), and to provide some vinegar, garlic, or herbs as a counterpoint to cut through the flavor. The gaminess also depends on the cut you choose. Lamb chops and leg of lamb tend to be a bit gamier, which is why so many people pair them with mint sauce. Rack of lamb or rib cuts, on the other hand, are tender and delicious without a hint of game.

Today, I will offer you two ways to prepare lamb. Both are simple and delicious. The “fancy” preparation I save for special occasions – though it is shockingly easy to prepare. The other I will often serve for regular meals.

Leg of Lamb with Roasted Garlic and Shallots

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 2 tablespoons dry oregano
  • 3 cloves garlic, pressed through a press
  • Three bulbs garlic (or more)
  • Six shallots (or more)
  • Drizzle olive oil
  • One leg of lamb, butterflied with bone removed
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • Chopped, fresh rosemary

Method

  1. Pour vinegar, olive oil, rosemary, and oregano into a bowl and whisk. Marinate lamb in this for 4-6 hours.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Slice the tops off of the heads of garlic and halve the shallots. Place them in a baking dish, cut side up and drizzle with olive oil.
  4. Cover with foil and roast for 90 minutes, until garlic and shallots are soft.
  5. Raise oven temperature to 500 degrees.
  6. Squeeze garlic and shallots out of the dried skins into a bowl and mash together.
  7. Lay lamb out on the counter and season with salt and fresh cracked pepper.
  8. Spread garlic and shallot mixture over surface of butterflied lamb.
  9. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary.
  10. Roll lamb into a roast and tie with butcher’s twine.
  11. Season outside of lamb with salt and pepper.
  12. Place in roasting pan and put in oven for 10 minutes to sear lamb.
  13. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and cook until lamb reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees, about an hour (or longer for larger cuts. Check temperature regularly).
  14. Allow to rest 20 minutes before carving and serving.

Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

Ingredients

  • One stick of grass-fed butter, softened
  • 6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh thyme
  • One rack of lamb, Frenched
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Combine butter, garlic, almond meal, parsley, and thyme to form a loose paste.
  3. Score the fat on the rack of lamb crosswise, avoiding cutting all the way through to the meat.
  4. Season rack of lamb with salt and pepper.
  5. Press bread crumb mixture onto fleshy side of the rack of lamb, covering the meat entirely but leaving bones exposed.
  6. Place in a roasting pain, crust side up.
  7. Roast for about 30 minutes, until a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the lamb reads 135 degrees.
  8. Allow to rest 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

Serve with an earthy Pinot Noir or French Burgundy (made from Pinot Noir), which is a classic food/wine pairing. Favorites include Martinelli Pinot Noir from California or a Domaine Serene Pinot Noir from Oregon.

Sweet Corn Chowder

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cornchowderOne of my favorite weekend activities is a trip through the farmers’ market. I enjoy watching the produce offerings change throughout the seasons, starting with tender baby greens in early spring, progressing to glistening berries in June, to colorful vegetables like radishes and carrots throughout the summer, finally winding down to fragrant apples, squash, pumpkins and heartier winter vegetables in October and November. Regular walks through the farmer’s market show you the natural progression of the food harvest cycle, and allow you to find ways to eat seasonally as earlier generations must have done in the days before produce was shipped all across the country and available year-round.

This week’s offerings are among my favorite of the summer. Ears of sweet corn, small red potatoes, sweet onions, fennel, colorful heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, and summer squash. Finding corn on the cob at the farmer’s market is bittersweet. It means the end of summer is quickly approaching, giving way to the crisp days of autumn and the start of the new school year. In a month or so, my urge to cook apples will kick in, and my kitchen will be filled with applesauce, pie, and spicy, crunchy apple crisp.

I have found the perfect meal to make the most of the seasonal vegetables available at the farmer’s market right now. While sweet corn is, of course, amazing by itself on the cob, tossed on the grill, and then lightly buttered, if you’re looking for another way to serve it while incorporating much of the other seasonal bounty, then I suggest making a sweet corn chowder.

Sweet Corn Chowder

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound thick cut pepper bacon, diced
  • 2 sweet onions, diced
  • One carrot, peeled and diced
  • One stalk fennel, diced (if you don’t like fennel, you can replace this with celery)
  • 1/4 cup flour (or sweet rice flour for gluten-free)
  • 8 cups gluten-free chicken stock
  • Diced red potatoes (2-3 medium or several small)
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (or to taste – this is optional, but I like a little kick in the chowder to complement the sweet)
  • 4 ears sweet corn, husked and cut from cob, with juices reserved.
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream (optional – eliminate for dairy free)
  • Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Method

  1. In a large stock pot, cook bacon until it is crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the oil. Reduce heat to medium high.
  2. Add onion, carrots and fennel to the pan and saute stirring occasionally until vegetables soften and start to caramelize, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add flour to the vegetables and stir constantly to keep it from sticking, about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to remove any brown bits on the bottom. Stir constantly for a few minutes until flour and liquid are well combined and liquid starts to simmer and thicken slightly.
  5. Add potatoes, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes soften, about 1o to 15 minutes.
  6. Add bacon, sweet corn and juices and simmer for a few minutes to soften corn and incorporate flavors.
  7. Add heavy cream, and stir to incorporate.
  8. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the chowder with a crusty bread and a dry Riesling (Columbia Cellermaster’s Riesling is a great choice), unoaked Chardonnay, or a Pinot Grigio.

Seared Scallops with Mushroom Risotto

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risottoI may have mentioned before that I have a habit of reverse engineering meals I enjoy in restaurants so I can make them at home. After my reconnaissance missions to wonderful eateries around the area, I head into the kitchen where I play with ingredients until I achieve reasonable facsimile. No restaurant is immune. I’m just as likely to attempt to reverse engineer an Applebee’s quesadilla burger (Tanner’s favorite, and I just made it the other night!) as a fancy schmancy meal from Snidely McSnooty’s.

One of my favorite restaurant meals comes from the Lobster Shop in Tacoma. Our whole family enjoys visiting the restaurant along the water on Ruston Way. When they have it, we almost always select the center cut king crab legs (thank you Sig Hansen!), but when those are not on the menu, I’m all over their weathervane scallops with mushroom risotto. The risotto is creamy and earthy while the perfectly seared scallops are sweet and tender. I’ve made the dish several times at home, adapting it as I go along. While it’s never quite the same twice, I can give you a basic recipe. Try it at home. You’ll be glad you did!

Seared Scallops with Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

  • 2 packages of dried porcini mushrooms (you can find them in the produce aisle at the grocery, usually right by the regular mushrooms)
  • 7 cups of chicken stock
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter (or 4T duck fat for dairy-free)
  • 1/4 lb pancetta, chopped
  • One onion, minced
  • 1-1/2 cup Aborio rice
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 to 3 cups assorted fresh mushrooms, sliced ( I like crimini and chanterelles)
  • 3 to 4 Tbsp. dried or chopped fresh thyme
  • Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup hard Italian cheese (I like parmigiano reggiano or asiago – or omit for dairy-free)
  • 3 Tbsp. heavy cream (omit for dairy-free)
  • Salt to taste
  • One pound of large sea scallops
  • Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • 2 Tbsp. clarified unsalted butter
  • 1/2 scallop, minced
  • Dash of white wine
  • 1 cube unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ pieces and chilled.
  • Dash heavy cream

Method:

  1. Heat chicken stock to boiling. Add dried mushrooms and set aside to soak for about two hours.
  2. Remove mushrooms from the stock and chop. Set aside. Strain dregs out of stock and reheat the stock on stovetop to simmering.
  3. Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Melt butter (or duck fat) in pot until it begins to bubble.
  4. Add pancetta and cook until crisp, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add the onion, and saute until it softens, about two to three minutes.
  6. Add rice and saute, stirring constantly to toast rice and coat it with oil, about two minutes.
  7. Add wine, stirring constantly.
  8. Add mushrooms and thyme after the rice absorbs the liquid from the wine, and immediately begin adding stock.
  9. Add stock about one ladleful at a time, stirring constantly. Constant stirring will help develop a creamy texture, which is especially important if you are omitting cheese and butter. As the rice absorbs the liquid, add another ladleful. After about 15 to 20 minutes, the rice should be el dente. You should have about one cup of stock left.
  10. Stir in cheese until melted, and then add 3 Tbsp. heavy cream (omit this step for dairy free). Stir to combine. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper as needed.
  11. Set scallops to drain in a colander.
  12. Heat a 12″ saute pan over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Add cold clarified butter or duck fat to the hot pan, and allow it to heat to bubbling.
  13. Meanwhile, pat scallops m completely dry with a paper towel and season lightly with salt and pepper.
  14. Place scallops in the pan and do not move or touch them. Do not overcrowd the pan, or scallops will not sear. If you must, cook them in two batches.
  15. After scallops have been in contact with the pan without moving for about two minutes, use tongs to peek at the bottom side of one. If it is browned and caramelized, then flip the scallops. Sear the other side.
  16. Remove scallops from the pan and place them on a plate, tented with foil.
  17. Return the pan to medium heat and pour the remaining stock into the pan, carefully scraping the browned bits off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add a dash of white wine.
  18. Add shallots, and allow to simmer until liquid reduces by about half or a little more.
  19. Whisk in one of the 1/2 inch pieces of butter. When it is fully incorporated, whisk in a few more. Continue to whisk butter in a few pieces at a time until it is all added (omit this step for dairy-free and instead reduce stock further until desired thickness).
  20. Whisk in a dash of heavy cream (omit this step for dairy free).
  21. Spoon risotto onto the plate. Top with sea scallops, and spoon the pan sauce over the top. Serve immediately.

This is good garnished with steamed asparagus, or serve it with a simply dressed salad of mache or spring greens. For a wine, have an earthy Pinot Noir, which pairs perfectly with the mushrooms and sets off the sweetness of the scallops nicely. I enjoy Oregon Pinot Noirs. Try one of Argyle Winery’s Spirit House Pinot Noir or their very affordable Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.