AOKN
Culinary Explorer
. The inspiration came from a great supper with friends at a coastal cottage🏖. The tastes of juicy scallops, crackling bacon, and creamy smoked mackerel beurre blanc were so delicious that I couldn't wait to recreate it at home to share with other food lovers.Ingredients:
- 4 scallops (as fresh as you can get)
- 100 grams of "zeeuws spek" (spiced and smoked pork belly)
- Green asparagus tips
- 200 ml of white wine
- 1 shallot
- 100 grams of cold butter
- A splash of cream (around 1 tbsp)
- Finely chopped chives for garnish
- Edible flowers for garnish
- Bones, head, and skin of one smoked mackerel or eel
- Two sticks of celery
- 1 carrot
- Half a leek
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 onion
- 2 bay leaves
Directions:
- If you are making your stock from scratch, this is where we should start. First clean and rough-chop your vegetables. Add the fishbones and all the vegetables to a large pot and cover with about two liters of water, bring to a simmer and let this simmer on low heat for about 30-40 minutes. In the meantime skim any foam off the pan to create a nice and clear broth. After this 30 minutes simmer, we are going to strain the stock in another pot and put it back on medium-high heat, and continue till the stock is reduced to ⅓ of what you started with.
- Now it is time to prepare the sauce. finely chop the shallot and sautee for 2 minutes on medium heat. add 200 ml of white wine and 200 ml of your already reduced stock. let this simmer until reduced by half and then strain out the onions and add your reduction back to the pan. Set this aside for now.
- Fill a small pan with water and bring to a boil. Then blanch your asparagus for about two minutes. Drain them and cool them down with cold water. Slice your bacon/zeeuws spek in thick slices and trim them until they almost have the size of a scallop.
- Now it’s time to finish the dish. Put your saucepan on low heat with your reduction. Start with frying your bacon in a dry pan on medium heat until crispy golden brown. let them drain on a piece of kitchen paper and then sear your scallops for two minutes on the first side, so they turn nicely golden brown. On the other side I usually sear a little bit shorter because you don’t want to overcook them; about 60-90 seconds.
- Finish the sauce by adding the cream to your warm reduction and simmer for 30 seconds. then turn off the heat and add your cubed cold butter in small batches while whisking and incorporating the butter in the sauce. serve the scallops and bacon on the asparagus. Add the beurre blanc sauce and the chives and flowers as garnish. Enjoy!
Feel free to alter the seasoning or add more garnishes to your liking. This meal will amaze your guests and elevate any dinner gathering with its tempting tastes and gorgeous presentation. 
Sounds like a flavor explosion! Can't wait to indulge! 
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
