Around My French Table (62 page)

Sprinkle the sugar into a small saucepan. Place the pan over medium-high heat and warm the sugar until it starts to melt and color. As soon as you see it turn brown, begin to gently swirl the pan. When the sugar has turned a deep caramel color (you can put a drop of sugar on a white plate to test the color), about 3 minutes, stand back and add the white wine and orange juice. It may bubble and spatter, so watch out. Turn the heat up to high, stir with a wooden spoon, and boil the sauce until it is reduced by half—you should have about ⅓ cup. Pull the pan from the heat and set it aside.
(You can make the sauce up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator.)

Pat the scallops dry between paper towels. Slice or pull off the little muscle attached to the sides of the scallops. Have a warm serving platter and a small strainer at the ready.

Put the saucepan with the caramel sauce over very low heat so that it can warm while you cook the scallops.

Put a heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. When the pan is hot, pour in
1½ teaspoons olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom. Add the scallops, season them with salt and white pepper, and cook, without moving them, for 2 minutes. Flip the scallops over, season with salt and white pepper, add a little more oil if needed, and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until the scallops are firm on the outside and just barely opaque in the center—nick one to test. Transfer the scallops to the serving platter.

Check that the caramel sauce is hot—give it more heat if necessary. Pull the pan from the heat and toss in the butter, bit by bit, swirling the pan until the butter is melted and the sauce is glistening. Season the sauce with salt and white pepper, then pour it through the strainer into a sauceboat or pitcher.

Drizzle some of the sauce over the scallops and pass the rest at the table.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

SERVING
The scallops are good served with a simple green vegetable, such as steamed green beans or asparagus, and any grain, but for something a little different, I urge you to pair them with Spiced Butter-Glazed Carrots (
[>]
).

STORING
While the scallops must be eaten as soon as they're cooked, the caramel sauce can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

BONNE IDÉE
Candied Orange Zest.
If you want to dress the dish up a tad, top the scallops with strips of candied orange zest. Before you squeeze the juice from the orange, cut off the zest using a zester, a vegetable peeler, or a knife—avoid the cottony white pith. If you didn't use a zester, cut the zest into very thin strips. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, toss in the zest, and boil for 1 minute, then drain in a strainer and rinse under cold water. Put ¾ cup water and ½ cup sugar in the pan and cook, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is boiling. Add the zest, reduce the heat to as low as possible, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the zest is soft. At serving time, remove the zest with chopsticks or a slotted spoon and strew it over the caramel-sauced scallops.

T
O INCLUDE THIS RECIPE IN A BOOK
of French recipes is cheating just a little, because it is a dish that I serve in Connecticut when everything that makes it fabulous—corn, tomatoes, basil, and nectarines—is at its ripest, sweetest, and most plentiful. It sneaked into this collection because I slipped it into a meal in Paris, where my friends considered it
exotique.

If you think the exotic part is the inclusion of the nectarines with vegetables and scallops, you think wrong. The French take that in stride, especially since the nouvelle cuisine of the 1970s. No, the exotic was our beloved corn.

Corn is not unheard of in France, but it's not nearly as esteemed there as it is here (it's considered good fodder for livestock), and when it turns up in dishes, it usually comes straight from a can and goes into a salad. In fact, when I made this salad in Paris, the corn came from a can. Needless to say, it didn't have the taste, texture, or wonderful aroma of our terrific corn, but the dish was good enough to make the point that the vegetable can be taken seriously and, more important, good enough to make everyone around the table happy.

TO MAKE THE DRESSING:
Put all the ingredients in a small jar, cover, and shake to blend. Or whisk the zest, juice, salt, and piment d'Espelette or chili powder together in a small bowl, then slowly whisk in the olive oil.
(The dressing can be made the night before and kept covered in the refrigerator; bring it to room temperature before using.)

TO MAKE THE BASIL COULIS:
If you have the time, blanch the basil for 30 seconds in boiling water, drop it into a bowl of ice and water, chill for a few minutes, then dry it, so the coulis will be bright green. Put the basil, olive oil, and a pinch of salt in a mini processor or blender and whir to puree; set aside.
(The coulis can be made ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator overnight; bring to room temperature before using.)

TO MAKE THE SALAD:
If you're grilling the scallops, preheat the grill. If you're pan-searing them, heat a large heavy-bottomed pan over high heat—a cast-iron skillet is good here; a large griddle is great too.

If you're grilling, arrange the nectarines, cut side down, and the scallops on the grill and cook for 1½ minutes. Turn the scallops—leave the nectarines undisturbed—season the scallops with salt and white pepper, and grill for another 1½ minutes; the scallops should be firm but still translucent at their centers. If you're pan-searing, add just enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan and, over medium-high heat and working in batches so that nothing is crowded, first cook the nectarines until they are warmed through, about 3 minutes, then remove and keep warm. (If you're using a griddle, you might not have to oil it—it will depend on how well seasoned it is.) Then sear the scallops for 1½ minutes on each side, seasoning them with salt and white pepper when you turn them. Keep warm.

To serve, put the corn in a small bowl and toss with a spoonful of lime dressing—you want to use only enough to moisten the kernels. Taste for salt and pepper. Put the tomatoes in another bowl and season with salt and pepper. Put 4 scallops in the center of each plate. Surround the scallops with the corn kernels, scatter the tomatoes over the corn, and put 1 nectarine half at the side of each plate. Spoon some lime dressing over the scallops, then top them with basil coulis; dot the corn and tomatoes with a little coulis too, if you'd like. Sprinkle the shredded basil over the corn and tomatoes and serve.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

SERVING
I like to arrange this salad on individual plates, but it can certainly be served family-style.

STORING
You can make the lime dressing and basil coulis the day before, but everything else should be prepared as close to serving time as possible.

A
S ASSIDUOUSLY AS THEY GUARD THE PURITY
of their family specialties, the French are unabashedly free wheeling with recipes from other cultures. They'll stir Parmesan into a pot of rice and call it risotto, slice a tomato paper-thin and dub it carpaccio, add a pinch of curry powder to a stew and tag it
à l'indienne,
and make anything in a wok and call it Asian. It may be a little cavalier, but the food that comes out of this open-spirited stab at fusion is often so good that only a prig would fuss over the nomenclature. Certainly no one would complain if faced with this just-remotely Chinese mix of shrimp, dried mushrooms, and slithery, translucent noodles tossed with a tomato sauce that gets its spunk from a spoonful of Chinese five-spice powder, a mix of ginger, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, and star anise. The flavor is haunting and mysterious—no one ever guesses what it is.

This dish was created by my friend Hélène Samuel and was first served chez Hélène as part of an all-orange meal. I can't remember the reason she decided to serve us only orange food (aside from the fact that she's crazy about the color), but I do remember that we started with an orange salad, had the shrimp, and finished the meal with a carrot cake. I asked for this recipe before I walked out the door.

About 30 minutes before you're ready to cook, soak the dried mushrooms in a large quantity of warm water until soft. Drain, rinse, and pat the mushrooms dry. Chop them or cut them into shreds.

Soak the noodles in hot water, following the directions on the package (usually for about 10 minutes). When the noodles are soft and slippery, drain and snip them into easy-to-eat lengths (I cut them into thirds). Toss them with 1 tablespoon sesame oil.

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and keep it at a simmer. Have a strainer at hand.

Mix the five-spice powder, sugar, and cayenne together.

Put a wok or large skillet over medium heat and pour in the peanut or grapeseed oil. When it's hot, toss in the onion and cook for a minute or so, just until it's translucent, then add the rehydrated mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds. Turn up the heat and add the shrimp to the pan, followed quickly by the spice mixture. Season generously with salt and white pepper and cook, stirring often, until the shrimp just start to turn pink, about 30 seconds. Pour in the tomato puree and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes, or until the shrimp are fully cooked. Taste for salt, pepper, and cayenne, then turn off the heat.

Slide the cellophane noodles into the simmering water, turn up the heat, and cook for 1 minute. Drain the noodles in the strainer, shake to dry them well, and turn them into a serving bowl; if you'd like, toss them with a little more sesame oil.

Pour the shrimp and sauce over the noodles, sprinkle the cilantro over the shrimp, and serve immediately, with chopsticks or forks.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

SERVING
This is a complete meal in a bowl and needs nothing more than wine or beer to go with it. But it's also a dish that lends itself to accompaniments. I sometimes put small bowls of chopped salted peanuts, sliced scallions, and Fried Garlic Petals (see Bonne Idée,
[>]
) on the table, so that my guests can add crunch and extra zip to the dish as they go.