Are you completely over pumpkin by now? I know I am. It annoyed me when pumpkin beer and pumpkin this and that started popping up on Twitter and blogs in AUGUST when I was still fully immersed in the summer, and by the time late September rolled around, I pretty much didn’t want to see another bit of pumpkin again. But, I happened to have one can left in the house, and since we are traveling soon and didn’t buy any fresh fruits or veg this week, I decided to work with it as a source of vitamins and fiber. As usual, on my trip to NJ, my mom sent me home with a ton of food, including some beautiful sea scallops that I couldn’t wait to cook. After discovering the deliciousness of butternut squash and white beans a few weeks ago, and being without the risotto I thought we had, I decided to make scallops atop a puree of pumpkin and white beans.
With black truffle oil, of course. I actually went back and forth because I was craving spice and pondered making a sesame oil and sriracha glaze for the scallops, but I really didn’t want to overpower their natural sweetness.
Earthy black truffle oil and sage won this time.
I had soaked my white beans for a day, changing the water a few times before cooking them until soft. Before I got started on the scallops, I just combined the hot beans with the pumpkin, right out of the can, along with some truffle oil and sage, in the blender and blended until really smooth. I set the puree aside and cleaned the scallops, drying them thoroughly with a clean towel so I would get a nice caramelized crust.
Into a searing hot pan they went until browned on both sides. Unfortunately, the caramelized crust started to fall off, but I was able to somewhat salvage it. I think that might be my favorite part of scallops. I topped the warm pumpkin and white bean puree with six scallops for each of us, drizzled with black truffle oil, and we were ready to eat. This quick dinner, made with three things we had on hand (Frozen scallops, thawed completely, can be just as good as fresh, I discovered. I had previously been a frozen scallop snob!) proved that a delicious, restaurant-like meal can be healthy and really fast. The longest part of the process was soaking the beans, and you could easily use canned.
I received a bunch of great wine samples recently and decided to pair the scallops dish with a Michel Torino rosé of Malbec. The wine was beautiful with lots of bold fruit and floral flavors , but it was a little overpowering and too up front for the subtly flavored scallops. I would pair it with a dish that had bigger flavors next time, but I would definitely try this wine again. And at $13 a bottle, it’s definitely a great value. Red, White, Boston is recommending rosé for Thanksgiving, something I can definitely get behind, and I think this would be a great choice.
I am cooking Thanksgiving dinner in Ireland, so I kind of have to wing it on wines and the menu until I get there and go shopping which is part fun, part exhausting just thinking of it! Are you cooking Thanksgiving dinner or any dishes for the meal? Have any favorite Thanksgiving wine pairings? Hard to believe, but it is three weeks away!
