Sea Scallops in a nest of vegetables with tomato coulis

By dfarber

Ingredients

• Tomato Coulis:
• 1 3/4 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, peeled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon minced shallots
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• Vegetables:
• 6 ounces peeled celery root or celery, cut julienne
• 1 medium leek, white part only, cut julienne
• 1 medium carrot, peeled cut julienne
• 1 small zucchini, cut julienne
• 1 small yellow crookneck squash, cut julienne
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Scallops:12 sea scallops (about 1 pound) trimmed
• 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 fresh basil leaves, shredded

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

1. For coulis: Quarter and core tomatoes. Squeeze seeds and juice into sieve set over small bowl, pressing gently on seeds to extract as much juice as possible. Discard seeds. Finely chop tomato pulp. Add to tomato juice.
2. Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over low heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice and boil until reduced to thick puree, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Stir in vinegar and basil. Season with salt and pepper.
3. For vegetables: Steam all vegetables until crisp-tender. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over low heat. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds; remove. Add steam vegetables and stir to coat with oil. Season with salt and pepper.
4. For scallops: Brush scallops lightly with soy sauce. Heat heavy large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add scallops (in batches if necessary) and cook until just opaque, about 2 minutes per side; do not overcook.
5. Gently reheat tomato coulis. Stir lemon juice into vegetables. Mound vegetables in center of each plate. Top each with 3 scallops. Spoon tomato coulis around vegetables. Garnish with basil. Serve immediately.