Diver Scallop winter Truffle risotto with House Made Almond Butter
Serves 4-6 people
1tablespoon butter
1tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot,minced
to taste kosher salt
to taste white pepper
2cloves garlic,minced
1cup arboriorice
1/4cup drywhitewine
5cups chicken Stock/ broth
1tablespoon minced black truffle(or 1½ table spoons truffle oil)
2tablespoons softened butter
¼cup Parmesan cheese
2tablespoons chopped parsley
shaved white truffles for garnish
Seared diver scallop
4-6 ea. U10 scallops
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Olive oil
Bring stock to a boil, then turn off the heat.
Heat sauté pan over medium heat until hot.
Add your butter and oliv eoil and heat until warm.
Now add the minced shallot, garlic and dry rice. Cook and stir over medium heat until the garlic and shallot is tender and the rice is translucent around the edges, about 2 minutes.
Add a heavy pinch of salt, white pepper and white wine and cook until dry. I use white pepper only because it doesn’t stand out against the color of the white risotto. There is no flavor difference, just for appearances.
Add 1 cup of hot stock along with the minced truffles or truffle oil and stir frequently until the broth is absorbed and the rice is almost dry.
Continue adding 1 cup of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed before adding the next cup. You may not have to add all of the last cup of broth.
The finished risotto should have the consistency of thick, not stodgy, oatmeal. The risotto should be creamy, but the rice should still have some texture. The rice should not be mushy. Total cooking time will be about 20-22 minutes.
Once the rice is at the proper texture, stir in the butter (if using) and parmesan cheese. Taste and add more salt or white pepper, if necessary.
Heat non stick skilled on medium high heat with olive oil in pan. season Scallops and place in pan. about 2 ½ minutes on each side until the side of the scallop is golden brown.
Divide risotto among plates. Garnish with one seared diver scallop, two shavings of winter/black truffle. Top with homemade almond butter. and a sprinkle of chopped parsley, and serve immediately.
Almond butter
Makes about ½ cup
To roast the almonds, spread them in a thin layer on a baking sheet at 300°F for about 20 minutes. Stir a couple of times to assure even roasting.
1 cup roasted almonds
1 tablespoon unrefined vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Combine the almonds and salt in a food processor, blender, meat grinder or nut butter machine and process until the nuts are finely ground. Add the oil and continue processing until the almond butter reaches your desired degree of smoothness, adding more oil if necessary. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.
