By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com
Pea Puree with Scallops
I made a Pea Puree the other day for dinner and used it as a base for scallops, which I topped with chopped pan-fried pancetta pieces.
I was inspired for the dish from an Episode of Top Chef in Season 7.
In the episode, chef Alex is accused of stealing a pea puree from Chef Ed. The accusation gains ground when we are shown the judges are not in on the drama. After the drama ensues, the issue really rockets into the stratosphere when Alex wins the daily competition due to the judge’s reception of the puree.
Chef Tom Colicchio insits the judges knew nothing of the events behind the scenes, if Alex stole it or not, or in the end who really made it, but it doesn’t matter as Alex did not win the competition.
Based on the recalled drama, I decided to make a pea puree and used a recipe by Top Chef Mark Simmons from Season 4 of the show. The recipe is simple and as follows:
Ingredients
- 1 package frozen peas
- 100 grams of fresh spinach
- 1 bunch fresh mint
- 1 bunch fresh basil
- 1 serrano chili pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the peas and spinach and cook until tender, about 4 minutes.
Chop the mint, basil, and serrano and add to the cooking liquid for one minute.
Strain the vegetables and remove to a bowl. Reserve 2-4 cups of the liquid.
Use your blender (I used my VitaMix) and puree the mixture on high speed for a few minutes, adding the liquid as needed to reach the desired consistency. Depending on how you want to use the sauce, you will end up using more or less. I used about 2 cups for my run here.
Remove the puree to a bowl and place the bowl in an ice bath. I filled a large salad bowl with ice and put the bowl of puree in the middle for an hour.
Once the sauce is cool you can cover and put in the refrigerator for later or use it right away.
Uses
The puree is great as a base for fish or vegetables and also can be used in pea soup, pea risotto, or in pasta. I topped mine with pan seared scallops and a few sprinkles of pan-fried pancetta.
The puree is very tasty with flavoral aromatics from the mint and basil. The serrano adds just the right amount of heat and best of all, its very low in calories!
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