Recipe: Pôelée de St. Jacques’

Ingredients

300 g Sunchokes
500 g Brussels Sprouts
100 mL Milk
75 g Unsalted Butter
16 Scallops (4 on each plate)
400g Cured Pork Belly
Canola Oil
Pinch of Salt

Sunchoke Puree

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F
2. Clean sunchokes in cold water to remove excess dirt from the skin.
3. Toss the sunchokes with 1 tbsp oil and a pinch of salt.
4. Place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven. Test to see if it’s done with the tip of a knife. It should slide in and out without much resistance.
5. Gently warm milk, and transfer to blender with roasted sunchokes and 50 g unsalted butter.
6. Purée until smooth, and pass through sieve. Set aside and keep warm until later use.

Scallops

1. Remove the rectangular side muscle of the scallop gently with your fingers. It will have a tough texture that most find undesirable.
2. Place on a dry paper towel to remove excess moisture and allow to come up to room temperature.
3. In a heavy-bottomed pan on medium high heat, add 1 tbsp of oil. Gently place scallops in the pan and allow to sear nicely on one side. Once a deep golden brown has been achieved, remove the pan from the heat.
4. Add 1 tbsp of butter and gently turn over the scallops. Sprinkle lightly with some sea salt and transfer the scallops to a paper towel-lined plate.

Pork Belly

1. Cut pork belly into 1-cm thick slabs and sear in a pan over medium heat until golden brown and crispy.
2. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Brussels sprouts

1. Using a sharp knife, trim the bottom of the Brussels sprouts, discarding any bruised or browning outer leaves. Pick some of the larger outer leaves of each Brussels sprout and set aside.
2. Once the outer leaves are removed, cut the Brussels sprouts in half lengthwise.
3. In a heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat, add 3 tbsp oil and place the Brussels sprout halves face down (cut side).
4. Allow them to caramelize nicely, and once the golden brown colour has been achieved, add 2 Tbsp butter and the reserved Brussels sprout leaves. Gently toss and season with salt. Cook until the outer leaves are heated through and slightly wilted. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Assembly

1. Spread the sunchoke purée across the bottom of the plate.
2. Place the roasted pork belly partially on top of the purée.
3. Place seared scallops randomly on and around the pork belly.
4. Divide the roasted Brussels sprout halves equally between your four plates, sprinkle with the Brussels sprout leaves and serve.