Hazelnut-crufted Queensland Sea Scallop & Cauliflower Salad with Watercress Purée

Name: Hazelnut-crufted Queensland Sea Scallop & Cauliflower Salad with Watercress Purée
Yield: Serves 6 as an entrée
Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients: 2 litres water; 1 handful tiny watercress sprigs, washed and spin-dried; 100 g hazelnut kernels; a tin pinch salt; 25 g [⅓ cup] sourdough breadcrumbs; 1 clove garlic, smashed; 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil; extra virgin olive oil, for cooking; ½ clove garlic, any green shoot removed, crushed; sea salt and freshly ground white pepper; a trace cayenne pepper; 2 large bunches watercress, washed, coarse stalks discarded; 100 g soft unsalted butter, chopped into small pieces; 40 ml hazelnut oil; ½ cauliflower, cut into florets; 20 ml verjuice, or to taste; sea salt; 2 tablespoons finely chopped curly-leaf parsley; lime juice, to taste; 24 scallops, the tiny hard piece on the side snipped off with a sharp knife or scissors; 30 ml grapeseed oil; freshly ground white pepper

Preparation info

Serves
6
as an entrée

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Salades

By Damien Pignolet

Published 2010

About

I created this salad as part of a five-course tasting menu served at Adelaide’s Windy Point Restaurant when I was invited to be their guest chef. It is simple and delicious as a second entrée served prior to a game dish such as roast squab [pigeon]. The four key flavours marry so well, a good example of less is more!

Ingredients

½ cauliflower, cut into florets
extra virgin olive oil, for cooking
24 scallops, the tiny hard piece on the side snipped off with a sharp knife

Method

To make the hazelnut crust, Preheat the oven to 160°C. Toast the hazelnuts for 10 minutes or until the skins split. Tip them into a coarse sieve and rub off the skins with a clean tea towel; don’t be too fussy about a few bits remaining. Chop the hazelnuts and r