Sea scallops with fermented broccoli rabe

Name: Sea scallops with fermented broccoli rabe
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 12 scallops (about 300gm), very thinly sliced horizontally; 4 radishes, shaved on a mandolin; To serve: extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice and finely chopped chives; 50 gm sea salt flakes; 440 gm (1 bunch) cime di rapa, washed, trimmed, leaves and buds separated, cut into 2cm pieces; 60 gm daikon, finely chopped; 4 spring onions, finely chopped; 1 garlic clove, finely chopped; 1 anchovy fillet, finely chopped; 1½ tbsp lemon juice; 15 gm Sriracha chilli sauce; ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for sea scallops with fermented broccoli rabe.

Mar 31, 2012 3:20am

By Rich Torrisi & Mario Carbone

Serves 6
40 mins preparation plus soaking, fermenting

Sea scallops with fermented broccoli rabe

“We love kimchi at Torrisi and thought long and hard on how to make it jive with what we do with our menu,” says Carbone. “We came up with the idea of taking a flowering Italian vegetable, broccoli rabe [also known as cime di rapa], that’s reminiscent of cabbage and fermenting it with anchovies, chillies and garlic.” You’ll need to begin this recipe 3 days ahead.

Ingredients

12 scallops (about 300gm), very thinly sliced horizontally
4 radishes, shaved on a mandolin
To serve: extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice and finely chopped chives

Fermented cime di rapa

50 gm sea salt flakes
440 gm (1 bunch) cime di rapa, washed, trimmed, leaves and buds separated, cut into 2cm pieces
60 gm daikon, finely chopped
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 anchovy fillet, finely chopped
1½ tbsp lemon juice
15 gm Sriracha chilli sauce
¼ tsp dried chilli flakes

Method

Main

1
For fermented cime di rapa, combine salt and 2 litres water in a non-reactive container, add cime di rapa and soak for 1 hour. Squeeze excess liquid from cime di rapa, transfer to a bowl with remaining ingredients, mix thoroughly, squeezing and pressing with your hands to create a wet mix, then add salt to taste. Transfer to a clean non-reactive container to fit snugly and press to remove air pockets. Weight down with a lid that fits perfectly inside container to cover and compress mixture. Cover with muslin and set aside in a warm place for 3 days to ferment. When fermented, drain, finely chop, and refrigerate in an airtight container until required. Makes about 1 cup. Fermented cime di rapa will keep refrigerated for 2 months.
2
Arrange scallops on serving plates, spoon over a little fermented cime di rapa, arrange radish on top, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice, scatter with chives and serve.