We were in the thick of a 3-day hydrocolloid workshop. That is a lot of thickening and gelling. We had reached the point where we were exploring the potential of vegetable purees. A cauliflower was our test subject. As we broke down the cauliflower, we began seeing the potential in all its parts, and we happily explored. The end of the cauliflower stalk, where we trimmed off the florets, had smaller sub-stalks. These nuggets of cauliflower looked very similar to Nantucket Bay Scallops. We cut the nuggets out of the stalk. Then we simmered them for 5 minutes in a cauliflower cream. (We will address this in coming posts.) We chilled the nuggets of cauliflower down. When they were cool, we seared them in foaming salted butter. When the scallops/cauliflower nuggets were nicely caramelized, we squeezed some fresh lemon over the top. The browned butter, lemon, and cauliflower together were a delicious combination. The visual similarities to scallops elevated the simple preparation into something that teased the imagination as well as the palate.
About the Author
