Courtesy of Niche
September/October 2009
- 1 head cauliflower
- 2 cups milk
- 2 stalks rhubarb, thinly sliced
- 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
- 16 slices of guanciale (available from Volpi Foods, volpifoods.com)
- 4 heads baby romanesco, quartered (available at Whole Foods, wholefoods.com)
- 16 morels, cleaned and halved
- 16 scallops (U10 size), with nerve removed
- Regular olive oil
- Quality extra-virgin olive oil (available at Extra Virgin, an Olive Ovation, extravirginoo.com)
- Canola oil
- Sugar, salt, and pepper
In a small pot, cook onions and rhubarb with 3 tablespoons of regular olive oil until onions are translucent. Add white wine and cook until liquid is almost completely reduced. Purée and add good-quality extra-virgin olive oil and a little sugar to taste.
In a medium-sized pot, simmer cauliflower and milk together until tender. Strain milk and reserve. Purée cauliflower and add milk to get a creamy consistency. Season with salt to taste. Keep warm.
Place guanciale on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 400-degree oven until crisp.
In a hot pan, sauté romanesco and morels until romanesco is tender. Add guanciale and season to taste.
Season scallops with salt and pepper on both sides, and place in a hot sauté pan with 3 tablespoons canola oil. When one side is golden, flip each scallop and brown other side. Scallops are done when they have just begun to firm. If scallops are very large, they may need to be placed in a 450-degree oven until done.
Place a puddle of cauliflower purée on a plate, and put guanciale, romanesco, and morels on top. Put a few dots of rhubarb sauce on plate, and top it all with two scallops.
