DIVER SCALLOPS WITH WHITE BEAN PUREE, CHORIZO, AND PINE NUTS

My mom was a city girl, born in Manhattan and raised in Brooklyn and Long Island. Of course, she never looked back when she moved to Rockland County and was content to live most of her life in "God's country" as she called upstate New York. When my friend Lee, another Brooklynite, mentioned that her friend's offspring had published a cookbook called The New Brooklyn Cookbook, I had to check it out. I ordered my copy from Amazon and waited patiently for it to arrive. It was worth the wait. The recipes and stories are from 31 restaurants that authors Melissa and Brendan Vaughan claim "put Brooklyn on the culinary map." I read the cookbook from cover to cover and decided to make DSO Saul's Diver scallops. Let me say up front that I do not eat scallops and am not partial to kale, but the recipe sounded like something he would like. I am printing the original recipe below. I adjusted the recipe to make 2 servings, used turkey chorizo, and further adjusted the amount of oil and salt since I'd like DSO to be around for a long while.

Serves 6

For the white bean puree:
1 cup dried white beans
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 garlic cloves, crushed
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 medium Spanish onion, diced
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

For the pine nut condiment:
1/4 cup currants
6 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1 tbs finely grated lemon zest
2 tbs sherry vinegar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper

For the kale:
1 bunch Tuscan kale, about 3/4 lb, cleaned, ribs removed, roughly chopped
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped shallots
salt and pepper

For the scallops:
24 large Diver scallops
salt and pepper
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb chorizo, cut on the diagonal into 1/8 inch rounds

To make the white bean puree:  place the white beans in a large bowl, cover with water, and soak overnight. Drain and place in a medium saucepan with the olive oil, garlic, celery, onion, and bay leaf. Cover with water by 3 inches and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour. Remove the bay leaf, drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid. Puree until smooth, adding more bean liquid if necessary. Season to taste and reserve.

To make the pine nut condiment: soak the currants in hot water for 20 minutes. Drain and reserve. In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft, about 2 or 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the currants, pine nuts, lemon zest, sherry vinegar, red pepper flakes, and thyme, and mix well to combine. Season to taste. Remove from heat to cool at room temperature.

To cook the kale:  prepare an ice bath and bring a medium saucepan of generously salted water to a boil. add the kale and blanch for 2 minutes, then transfer to the ice bath to cool. Drain well. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft. Add the kale, season with salt and pepper, and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

To cook the scallops:  season the scallops with salt and pepper. In a large saute pan (I used my cast iron skillet), heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the scallops and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Turn them over and cook for 2 minutes more. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Add the chorizo to the pan and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes.

To serve: spread 1/4 cup of the white bean puree on a plate and top with 4 scallops. Arrange the kale between the scallops and top with the pine nut condiment and the warm chorizo slices.
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TASTE NOTES
DSO pronounced the dish delicious, but way too much work. I'm inclined to agree. He felt the white bean puree had a bit more garlic than it needed. I liked the white bean puree just the way it was. It would have been delicious spread on some grilled ciabatta. I tried the kale and still don't like it, though I slurp it up in my favorite caldo Gallega. I was proud of the sear on my scallops, achieved through the use of my trusty cast iron skillet. I would not make this dish again, but if Larry craves it, would make a reservation at Saul's. BTW, I had forgotten the pine nut garnish when I took the photo.