Seared Scallops with Hazelnut POM Brown Butter Sauce by Chef Chris Lee

We sharing another great recipe from POM Wonderful created by Chef Chris Lee.

Seared Scallops with Hazelnut POM Brown Butter Sauce

Seared Scallops with Hazelnut POM Brown Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

POM Brown Butter:
Juice from 4-6 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates*, or 2 cups POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
3 tablespoons arils from 1 large POM Wonderful Pomegranate or POM POMS fresh pomegranate arils
2 tablespoons toasted hazelnuts, rough chopped
5 tablespoons butter, browned
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chives, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Celery Root Puree:
1 large celery root, peeled and cut into medium dice
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Scallops
24 large diver sea scallops (size U/10)
1 tablespoon olive oil
16 sprigs watercress
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

POM Brown Butter:
Prepare fresh pomegranate juice*, score 1 fresh pomegranate and place in a bowl of water, break open the pomegranate under water to free the arils (seed sacs), the arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top, sieve and put the arils in a separate bowl, reserve 3 tablespoons of the arils from fruit and set aside, (refrigerate or freeze remaining arils for another use), over medium-high heat, cook butter until it‚Äôs completely melted and starts to turn golden brown, remove from heat, in a small pot over medium-low, reduce the pomegranate juice to 1/2 cups until thick and syrupy, add the pomegranate arils, hazelnuts, brown butter and lemon juice, to finish the sauce when the scallops are cooked, add the sliced chives, and salt and pepper to taste, if the sauce is too thick, you can add a touch of water.

Celery Root Puree:
Place the celery root, water and heavy cream in a pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat, when the celery root is tender, remove from the liquid and blend until smooth, if the puree is too hard to blend, use some cooking liquid to help loosen it, the consistency should be like a smooth potato puree, season with salt and pepper and reserve until serving.

Scallops:
Season the scallops with salt and pepper, heat pan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and then quickly sear the scallops, being careful not to overcook, this should take about 1 minute on each side for a perfect medium rare temperature, use a spoon to make a large swoosh across each plate with the celery root puree, place three scallops next to the puree and spoon over the sauce, garnish the plate with the petite watercress and enjoy.

Serve this pomegranate recipe.

Notes:

* For 2 cups of juice, cut 4-6 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates in half and juice them with a citrus reamer or juicer. Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or sieve. Set the juice aside.

Nutritional Information:

Nutrients per Serving (3 scallops): 182 calories (93 calories from fat), 9g protein, 10g total fat (5g saturated), 14g carbohydrates, 1g dietary fiber, 39mg cholesterol, 7g total sugars, 47mcg vitamin A RE, 257mg sodium, 364mg potassium, 9mg vitamin C