Oyster And Scallop Ragout With Caviar Recipes

OYSTER AND SCALLOP RAGOUT WITH CAVIAR

Steps:

• Combine oysters, their liquor and one tablespoon butter in a small saucepan. Bring quickly to the boil and immediately strain oysters. Reserve liquid and oysters.
• Season scallops with salt and pepper, and mix with one tablespoon of melted butter.
• Blanch spinach leaves in boiling water, drain well and line four one-cup molds (round, flat-bottomed porcelain terrines work well) with the spinach, allowing a portion of the leaves to overlap the mold. Fill each cup with minced scallops and cover the top with overlapping leaves. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare sauce: In a small saucepan, combine four tablespoons butter, the fennel and onion, and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Add wine, oyster liquor and creme fraiche, and cook for two to three minutes. Strain sauce through a sieve (discarding fennel and onion), return to saucepan, add saffron and let reduce for several minutes, or until sauce is light and smooth. If preparing ahead, keep warm in a water bath.
• Place molds in the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Reheat oysters for four minutes in the same oven.
• Unmold spinach and scallop molds onto the center of a warmed dinner plate, arrange three oysters on each plate and cover oysters with the sauce. If desired, place one teaspoon caviar on top of each mold and serve immediately.

SEARED SEA SCALLOPS WITH CRèME FRAîCHE AND CAVIAR

Steps:

• Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Cook scallops until golden on bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn over; sauté until just cooked through, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels. Cool to room temperature.
• Top each scallop with 1/2 teaspoon crème fraîche. Top with caviar. Garnish with chives and serve.

SCALLOP RAGOUT WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add bacon, celery root, and shallot to the skillet; cook until shallot is tender, about 5 minutes. Add broth, cream, and wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until liquid is reduced by half, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Whisk butter into the skillet until melted. Stir in parsley and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a bowl and keep warm.
• Sprinkle scallops lightly with salt and pepper. Wipe out the cast iron skillet and place over medium-high heat. Add remaining oil. Add scallops to hot oil and cook until slightly browned, firm, and opaque, about 2 minutes per side. Serve scallops and ragout together.

PRUNE CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• Two days before preparing the flan, toss the prunes with Armagnac or Cognac, cover securely and set aside to marinate. (If time is limited, you can skip the marinade and simply toss the prunes with the spirits, although the two-day marinade will offer a richer, more flavorful dessert.)
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Butter and flour a 10 1/2-inch straight-sided ceramic baking dish.
• Add one tablespoon of sugar to the marinated prunes and toss. Place them on the bottom of the prepared baking dish, forming a single, tight layer that thoroughly covers the bottom of the dish.
• Place the eggs and three tablespoons of sugar in a large bowl and, using a whisk or electric mixer, beat until well blended. Add the flour and mix well. Add the milk and mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake until bubbly and brown, about 45 minutes.
• Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of sugar and allow to cool. Serve at room temperature. This is just as delicious the next day.

TOURTIERE (APPLE, PRUNE AND ARMAGNAC TART)

Steps:

• To prepare the tourtiere you will need a large, round, shallow baking pan; a 16-inch paella pan is perfect.
• Peel the apples, quarter them and slice very thin. In a mediumsize saucepan combine the apples, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water and cook over medium-high heat until quite dry, or for about 20 minutes. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, combine the prunes and Armagnac and allow them to marinate while the apples cook.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Dampen a large cloth towel and drape it over the phyllo dough to prevent it from drying out.
• Drain the prunes and combine them with the cooked apples. Reserve the Armagnac or rum.
• Using a pastry brush, lightly oil the bottom and sides of the baking pan.
• Place the tourtiere in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, then reduce the oven temperature to 300 and cook an additional hour. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve either hot, at room temperature or gently reheated, cutting into pie-shaped wedges.
• Spoon the apple-and-prune mixture in a single layer on top of the fourth sheet of dough, covering the bottom and sides of the pastry. Be sure to keep the unused phyllo dough covered as you continue to work.
• Continue with the rest of the phyllo dough, layering sheet by sheet, covering each sheet with a sprinkling of sugar and a sprinkling of Armagnac, until you have used all the sugar, Armagnac and dough. Use about 10 sheets, or layers, in all.
• Trim off any overlapping pastry from the edges so they are even and sprinkle the trimmings on top of the last layer of pastry.
• Center one sheet of phyllo dough in the baking pan and sprinkle generously with sugar and Armagnac. Do this three more times until you have four sheets of phyllo.

SCALLOP AND OYSTER STEW

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.
• Stir in the green onion, celery, and prosciutto; cover the pot and cook the mixture, stirring once, for 2 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium-high. Stir the scallops and oysters with liquid into the green onion mixture; cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until the scallops are cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• Stir the corn, tomato, half-and-half, jalapeno pepper, sesame oil, and cilantro into the oyster mixture.
• Remove the pot from heat, cover, and allow the stew to sit until uniformly heated, about 10 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper to serve.

FLAKY SWEET PASTRY

Steps:

• Place one cup of flour, the butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. Add the water and pulse just until the pastry begins to hold together, about six to eight times. Do not let it form a ball. Turn the pastry out onto waxed paper and flatten the dough into a circle. If the dough is excessively sticky, sprinkle it with several tablespoons of flour. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least one hour.
• On a lightly floured surface, carefully roll out the dough to a 12-inch circle and transfer the dough to a 10 1/2-inch tart pan, preferably black tin, with a removable bottom. With your fingertips, carefully press the pastry into the pan and up the side, trying not to stretch it. Trim the overhang, leaving about a one-inch edge. Tuck this overhang inside the pan, pressing gently against the side to create a sturdy, double-sided shell. If you build the pastry a bit higher than the height of the pan, you have less problem with shrinkage. Prick the bottom of the shell with the tines of a fork and chill for at least 20 minutes (or up to 24 hours, well wrapped).
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Line the shell loosely with heavy-duty foil, pressing well into the edges so the pastry does not shrink while baking. Fill with weights of rice or dried beans - making sure you get all the way into the edges - to prevent shrinkage.
• For a partially baked shell, bake just until the pastry begins to brown around the edges and seems firm enough to stand up by itself, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until it is thoroughly, lightly and evenly brown, about 10 more minutes. (For a fully baked shell, bake the pastry for 30 minutes after removing the foil and weights.)

CAJUN OYSTER AND SCALLOP STEW

Steps:

• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the green onions, celery and garlic and saute until slightly softened. Remove form the heat.
• In a seperate pan over medium heat, melt remaining butter and whisk in the flour. Whisk in the half & half, and bring just to a simmer, being careful no to boil it. Reduce heat to low and add the seasonings (parsley through black pepper). Add the vegetable mixture and the oysters and scallops. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the Worcestershire and sherry and contimue to simmer until the stew thickens.
• Ladle into bowls and top with croutons and serve.