Monday, November 9, 2009

scallop boudin recipe

Scallop Boudin w/ pea puree; salmon roe

You may or may not have seen this on the menu at Manu Fiedel's L'etoile bistro in Paddington; but a French head chef taught me how to make this long before it appeared on any menu in Sydney!

I would like to share with you the recipe:

500g FRESH scallop meat (roe off)
300g cream
3 egg whites
handful of chives
salt to taste (read method)

Blend the scallops, then pulse in the 300g cream, egg whites and a teaspoon of salt- Be careful not to overblend it, creating bubbles! Bubbles = no good. At the same time, make sure all the ingredients are well combined (you'll end up with a white paste-like consistency).

Fold in the chives.

Put a small amount in the microwave for 10secs, to test whether there's enough salt in the mix, adjust salt in mix as necessary.

Wrap up about 5 tablespoons of mix in glad wrap;
then wrap that over with cling film, ending up with a christmas cracker looking thing.

Poach in simmering water for 15 mins.

Slowly remove the sexy thing out of it's shell, then serve with:

- Blue swimmer crab miso soup
- Cauliflower puree or soup, salmon roe, truffle oil
- pea puree
- (how Manu does it) a bisque or crustacean jus
- Parsley risotto, fried garlic/eschallots
- Let your imagination go wild

Hope you can use this simple but elegant dish for your next dinner party ;)

16 comments:

  1. This was oh so good!

    Loved the pairing with the pea puree and roe and no doubt it'll be great in the crab soup. I imagine it would be much like how silken tofu is used in such applications considering the scallop boudin's texture :)

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  2. I've so got to make it to L'etoile one day! :) I've always wanted to do something like this after seeing it on Iron Chef!

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  3. Umm this tasted so good on its own! But in crab soup? Oh the pleasure! Thanks for making it for us :)

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  4. It looks delicious! You make it sound a lot less daunting than it looked on Masterchef :)

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  5. *drool* This was so good i couldn't stop going back for more. It was a little bit porno when you remove it out of its shell heehee :D

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  6. Oh yes, this was so awesome! And I can totally imagine this goes well with Crab miso soup - like Tsumire!

    LOL at Steph's comment. Don't forget Simon's tripod too!

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  7. sooooo gut ^^! hee hee glorified fishball ;)? HAHAHHAHA just a little bit?

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  8. oh that looks so good. I've wanted to try this for so long, might give it a go and make my own fish sausage! lol

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  9. Simon: like tofu aye? hmmm maybe coat it in tapioca flour than five spice powder it up?...

    NQN: it's a really nice atmosphere :) Don't expect the greatest food on earth but it's a nice place to practice your french!

    Karen: it's a pleasure; was nice to meet you and thank you so much for your clean up help!

    Penguin: Everything looks more daunting on Masterchef haha

    Stephcookie: Some people like it with the plastic on but I prefer it au naturale hahaa

    Yas: HAHA the tripod... I have to try this 'Tsumire'... what is it? O.o

    FFichiban: you know what?? the first thing I thought when I ate this was the exact same thing! except I added the word 'french' before 'glorified fishball' haha

    Maria: do it! you can even try it with a mixture of fish and/or prawns

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  10. Hi Lex, I've given you a blog award! Check out my blog to pick it up :)

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  11. Hi, i used to work at L'etoile while i was over in Oz from the UK, started there just before Manu took over from the old head chef Frederick. The scallop boudin recipe above is close but not exactly what we did. We used to white fish pureed along with half the scallops, then the rest of the scallops were fine diced and folded through with the chives which added texture. We then put them in 86 degree celsius water for 8 minutes then shocked them in ice water. During service we reheated them again in simmering water for 8-9 minutes. A little tip, when cutting the cling film dont cut at the knot and try and squeeze the boudin out s it will break, instead cut it back from the know about 2cm which will allow it to slide out without breaking, hope this helps, if you want the actual recipe let me know or if you have any questions.

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  12. Penguin: ?? I don't see anything O.o

    Bazar: Interesting! My old chef taught me with half white fish, half prawns; but I've never used scallops - thank you for the tips! I will definately take them to heart!

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  13. Fantastic recipe! I've always wanted to try this dish at L'Etoile but haven't been able to yet. Looks so good. Thanks!

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  14. This looks fabulous. I would like to try and serve it as a traditional boudin blanc: with caramelized apple (or maybe pear in this case). But do you think it could caramelise or it's too light and might fall appart?
    Thank you!

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  15. Marie: if you want to caramelize it try using a blowtorch? Let me know if you get good results! also replacing up to half the scallop meat with a firm white fish (like blue eye, barra...) will also keep it firmer if you plan to cook it on the pan - good luck!

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  16. Good to see seafood boudin finally appearing in Sydney. Alla Wolf-tasker at Lake House demonstrated the dish 15 years ago in Melbourne

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