RECIPE

Scallop-Topped Potato and Celery-Root Puree with Lemon Brown-Butter Sauce

  • Contributed by Quick From Scratch One-Dish Meals
  • ACTIVE:
  • TOTAL TIME:
  • SERVINGS: 4

The addition of celery root gives mashed potatoes an extra, surprisingly herbal dimension. The puree provides a perfect nest for seared scallops, and a drizzle of simple but intensely flavored sauce completes this delectable dish. It will make you feel you're dining in a multi-starred restaurant.

  • ACTIVE:
  • TOTAL TIME:
  • SERVINGS: 4
  • FAST

Ingredients

  • Ingredients
    1. 1 1/2 pounds baking potatoes (about 3), peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
    2. 1 pound celery root, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
    3. Salt
    4. Fresh-ground black pepper
    5. 8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
    6. 1 tablespoon cooking oil
    7. 2 pounds sea scallops
    8. 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
    9. 1 tablespoon drained capers
    10. 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

  1. Put the potatoes and celery root in a medium saucepan of salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook at a low boil until tender, about 20 minutes.
  2. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and then drain the potatoes and celery root. Put them back into the saucepan along with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Mash over very low heat, incorporating the reserved cooking water and 5 tablespoons of the butter.
  3. In a large nonstick frying pan, heat 1/2 tablespoon of the oil over moderately high heat. Season the scallops with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add half the scallops to the pan. Cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook until browned on the second side and just done, about 1 minute. Remove. Heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in the pan and cook the remaining scallops. Remove.
  4. Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter to the pan and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the scallops and any accumulated juices, the parsley, capers, lemon juice, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Mound the puree on plates and top with the scallops and sauce.