Seared scallops on vitelotte purée

I thoroughly enjoy amuse-bouches (especially since I bought Rick Tramonto's book) - not only do they look neat and sweet and sometimes absolutely stunning in their presentation, they also allow you to savour many different flavours. So I am creating more and more meals entirely consisting of little bites or mouthfuls. I've already started to share with you the cooking bonanza I had when my brother was over to visit, and the present recipe is another one in this series.
For days I had been pondering what to cook and I knew that scallops should be featuring on the menu. Quite how I would prepare them, I wasn't sure - should I go for earthy, with a cauliflower or even celeriac mash and possibly sprinkled with the tiniest cubes of fried bacon, or should I go posh with something truffely? On my way home from my shopping trip (having bought the ingredients for both options) I discovered a new greengrocer's about half a mile from where I live, in the search for fresh horseradish. He didn't have any, but I didn't go away empty-handed: I came across a neatly piled stack of vitelotte potatoes which I had spent months looking for, ever since Pascale of "C'est moi qui l'ai fait" fried some purple crisps...
This was exactly what I needed, a stunning visual contrast, yet subtle enough not to over-power the gentle flavour of the scallop! The shop owner gave me some invaluable advice: always cook the vitelotte in their skins, as they will turn greyish-green when in direct contact with water... peel and mash them up when they're thoroughly cooked. He also says the best way of preparing them is to cook them and fry them in a little butter the next day, possibly with some beaten egg poured over - something I have yet to try as there are rarely any left-overs in my kitchen, at least not when my brother's around!

Seared scallops on vitelotte purée
(serves 3 as an amuse-bouche)

150 g vitelotte (purple) potatoes
50 g butter
1 tbsp oil
3 scallops
1 tbsp sherry vinegar (aged, if possible)
1 tbsp truffle oil
chives to decorate

Cook the potatoes (skin on) in water until they're tender. Drain and carefully peel. Mash up with a potato ricer or masher, making sure to create a very smooth purée. Add the butter and season to taste.
Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and sear the scallops for 1-2 minutes on each side. Take care not to over-cook them! Combine the vinegar and truffle oil in a bowl or glass and mix thoroughly.
Arrange the vitelotte purée on a spoon (I used a white ceramic one shaped like the ones you find in Chinese restaurants), top with a scallop and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Decorate with some chives and serve immediately.

Comments

[Clemente]

Moment!! so verfressen bin ich nun doch nicht!!:-)Immer diese uebertreibungen von dir!!!

[Pascale]

Bravo Jo,
I smiled when I read that you had to run everywhere to find them ! I've noticed that UK magazines begin to talk about Vitelotte. In France we begin to find them more and more often.