jumbo scallops with red pepper puree: a delicious break from the norm
Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 10:27PM 
I recently took on a month-long writing assignment that required me to understand intellectual property law. I’m not a lawyer. I’m a generalist. So I turned to the Internet, downloading dozens of reports about royalty distribution and collection, copyright, and patents.
By the end of four weeks of cramming and then writing, I understood the basic concepts of intellectual property law but I felt like my brain had been pushed through a potato ricer.
I stopped exercising and started stress-eating. I polished off a carton of pistachio gelato without a thought.
The bag of tortilla chips in the pantry? Gone.
That block of Parrano cheese? Check.
I also stopped cooking. For dinners, I asked Paul to wear the apron.
This was not hard. Paul is a good cook and, given the chance, he can be more creative than me, brainstorming flavors and textures and then inventing techniques. How-to books bore him. He’s a jazz musician and like jazz musicians, he likes to run with an idea.
So, on his first night cooking, he was already experimenting. I peered over my computer screen to see him chopping zucchini, pureeing roasted red peppers, and grilling jumbo scallops.
Within the hour, he served a colorful and delicious dish of jumbo scallops on slices of grilled polenta smothered in a red pepper puree topped with shallot-balsamic sauce.
After that night I had a new favorite dish and decided that, while I wouldn't be writing about intellectual property any time soon, I would be asking my musician-husband to cook more often.
Jumbo Scallops with Roasted Red Pepper Puree on Polenta
4 jumbo scallops
1 zucchini, sliced 1/2 inch thick and grilled 3 - 4 minutes per side (reserve 3 slices)
1 package plain polenta
1 large shallot or two small, diced
1 - 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
2 tablespoon olive oilFor the red pepper puree
2 large red pepper, roasted and peeled
Reserved 3 slices grilled zucchini
2 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
For the pepper puree. Combine the red pepper, zucchini, garlic, thyme, and salt and pepper into a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the olive oil and blend. Set aside. This can be made a day in advance.
For the shallot topping. Heat oil in a pan and add the diced shallots. Simmer until translucent. Add the thyme. Simmer for one minute. Add a the balsamic and simmer for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Slice off four 1/2-inch thick rounds of polenta and set aside. Grill the polenta slices 4 minutes on one side. Pan-sear the scallops about 2-3 minutes per side.
Layer the polenta, red pepper puree, and scallops. Dress with the shallot-balsamic sauce.
Plate with the grilled zucchini and serve with a Chardonnay-Viognier blend.
Reader Comments (10)
Wow, he did a fabulous job Angela! The scallops look delicious.
Btw, I made your eggplant parmigiana, it was delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
WOW! You are a lucky lady. If I were to say the same to my husband, we would either have takeout pizza or...takeout pizza.
Wow! That looks incredible. What a wonderful husband you have!
Beautiful pictures too.
Elra: Your eggplant parm looks amazing! Thanks again for the link to my site.
Dana: Takeout pizza sounds good to me!
Erica: I'm glad you like the pics! Thanks for visiting.
Totally inappropriate for me to say this, but I love your husband ;) What a man!
I love meals like that! It looks amazing.
Those are some HUGE scallops! They look awesome! I love the color from the red bell peppers and polenta!
Beautiful, scrumptious, delicious! Love the colorful dish!
Hi Angela,
Glad to hear about you, when can we hire that chef to come to our house and cook something like this? It looks superb! I enjoyed your post about your trip with your dad and brother.
Hope to see more of your dishes soon.
O what beautiful dishes, what beautiful photography, thank you for keeping a fellow foodie inspired!