By Pat Tanner, Special Writer
Last June, as reported in this space, several area chefs competed — and shone — in the New Jersey Seafood Challenge. In fact, Scott Anderson of elements restaurant in Princeton came in first, and went on to compete for the national title in New Orleans, where he did the Garden State proud by finishing third.
Will Mooney of Brothers Moon in Hopewell and Chris Albrecht of Eno Terra in Kingston were among the entries in state contest, with Mr. Albrecht garnering the number two spot, just behind Mr. Anderson. Mr. Albrecht’s recipe for bigeye tuna steaks with Swiss chard and heirloom potatoes will be featured in an upcoming column, while today’s focuses on Mr. Mooney’s scallop entry.
For the competition, Mr. Mooney made a special point of specifying the local and regional sources he uses to make the dish. These include scallops from Point Pleasant; wheat berries from Oak Grove Mill in Pittstown; micro greens from Blue Moon Acres in Pennington; canned tomatoes from South Jersey; and honey, thyme, and garlic from local gardens and farms.
For this dish, unadorned scallops are quickly seared then plated with chef-worthy roasted tomato glaze, cooked wheat berries, and fresh micro greens simply dressed at the last moment. Any one of these components stand on their own; together they’re a showstopper.
Since the contest rules stipulated 10 servings, that’s the quantity reflected in the recipe that follows, but feel free to scale down on everything but the roasted tomato paste. If you don’t want to make your own tomato paste for the glaze, I recommend a delicious organic tomato concentrate carried by Taste of Crete on Route 206 in Hillsborough (tasteofcrete.com). Jars of Anydro Santorini Tomato Caviar, regularly $8.99 for 7.6 ounces, are on sale through this coming Monday (9/19) for $4.50.
SCALLOPS WITH
TOMATO GLAZE,
WHEAT BERRIES,
& MICRO GREENS
Will Mooney, Brothers Moon, Hopewell
4 pounds jumbo day boat scallops
Kosher salt & fresh ground white pepper, to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons canola oil
1½ cups Roasted NJ Tomato Glaze (recipe follows)
5 cups Cooked Wheat Berries (recipe follows)
3 cupsmicro greens
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1. Remove the tough side muscle from each scallop and discard. Place scallops on a paper towel to absorb any liquid. Season scallops with salt and pepper.2. Heat canola oil in a large heavy bottomed sauté pan until very hot and just smoking. Gently place scallops in pan and allow them to brown; do not move them for about 1 minute. Carefully flip them over and brown the other side. When brown, remove to a paper towel and keep warm.
To plate individually: Paint 2 tablespoons of the tomato glaze off-center on each of 10 plates. Place ½ cup of warmed cooked wheat berries in middle of each plate, next to the glaze. Place micro greens in a bowl, pour the olive oil, sherry vinegar, and remaining salt and pepper over the micro-greens, and mix gently. Place greens on top of the wheat berries and place scallops next to the wheat berries.
Serves 10.
Cooked Wheat Berries
2 cups wheat berries
6 cupswater
2 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground white pepper
3 tablespoons parsley, very thinly sliced
Combine all ingredients except parsley in a heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover partially, and cook for 1 to 1½ hours, until most of the water has evaporated and the wheat berries are soft. Add parsley. Can be served warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
Yields 5 cups.
Roasted NJ Tomato Glaze
1 cup Roasted NJ Tomato Paste (recipe follows)
3 ounces sherry vinegar
3 ounces honey
3 ounces extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch ground white pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Combine all ingredients. Keep chilled for future use. Can hold in fridge for 3-plus weeks.
Yields 2½ cups.
Roasted NJ Tomato Paste
1 28-ounce can crushed NJ tomatoes
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, lightly crushed
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine all ingredients. Place in a large oven-proof pan (you want a lot of surface area) and cook on middle shelf of oven for 1½ hours or until reduced to about 60 percent of the mixture’s original volume. Tomato will develop a slight crust: this is good as long as does not get too dark (burnt). Puree all ingredients with an immersion blender, then cool for later use.
Yields 2 ½ cups.
