Blue Swimmer Crab, Vanilla Scallop, Palm Heart and Beurre Blanc - Recipe By Chef Stacy Thompson

Ingredients

Vanilla Salt Brine:

1g Vanilla paste
2g salt
500g water
500g ice

Crab and Scallop Mix:

200g cooked blue swimmer crab
8-10 large Scallops with roe
100g mascarpone
5g chopped dill
5g garlic chives
2g lime juice
1g lemon zest
2g Olive oil
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of white pepper (not black)

Scallop roe beurre blanc:

5g scallop roe powder
200g diced butter
100g vinegar
1 shallot
2 sprigs lemon thyme
1 bay leaf
5 peppercorns
200g white wine

Herb oil:

250g mix of parsley, dill and bronze fennel
500mL grapeseed oil

Palm herb purée:

200g brined palm heart
5g hondashi powder
250g coconut cream
150g coconut water
Salt and white pepper

Method

Vanilla salt brine:

To start off with, you will need to make vanilla brine. It will need to cool before placing the scallops in.

Bring the salt, water, and vanilla paste to a simmer and stir until the salt has dissolved.

Stand for 5 minutes, then add the ice.

Put aside till cool then place in the fridge to get below 5 C.

Crab and scallop mix:

Add the scallops to the cold brine and return to the fridge for minutes.

Remove and dry with a paper towel.

When the beurre blanc, herb oil, and palm heart puree are cooling and ready to serve, start the preparation of the salad.

Cut each scallop into 3 rounds and dice them into small cubes.

Place them into a cold bowl. Combine the cooked crab meat gently with your diced scallop and the rest of the ingredients, being careful not to overwork your mascarpone.

Season to taste.

Scallop roe beurre blanc:

Place diced butter in the fridge and keep cold until you start to make the sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce the wine, shallot, parsley, lemon thyme, bay, and peppercorn by half.

Add the vinegar and reduce till you have around 110mL of liquid after you have strained out the aromatics.

Return the liquid back to the heat. While whisking the liquid, slowly add the very cold butter, one cube at a time, until you
have a velvety sauce.

Add the scallop roe powder and season with salt and white pepper to taste. Keep warm.

Herb oil:

Wash and spin your herbs, blitz with the grapeseed oil, and then cook at 70 C. Pass into a piping bag and hang till completely cooled.

Once cooled, snip the tip of the piping bag and drain the impurities using a pinching type of action and over a vessel to catch the impurities and another to catch the finished herb oil. Set it aside.

Palm herb purée:

Remove the palm hearts from their brine, pat dry and slice at least 4 nice thinnish slices for each person and set aside to garnish with when plating.

Bring the coconut water to a boil, then whisk in your favourite hondashi stock powder (you can also use a teaspoon of red miso paste if you can't find hondashi powder). Add the coconut cream and bring it to a fast simmer. Do not boil.

Using the rest of the palm heart, add to the coconut mix that has been reduced by half for about 3 minutes.

Blend till smooth, pass, then transfer to the desired container ready to plate.

Let it cool as it will be served warm.

To plate:

Place the warm purée on the bottom of the dish you are using to present the dish. On top of that place the crab and scallop salad which you have formed, into a cookie cutter ring, pushing it out gently with a teaspoon running around the edge of the ring.

Combine the beurre blanc and herb oil and pour around the outside of the salad.

Garnish with the sliced palm heart, new seasons finger limes, or caviar - dust with scallop roe powder.

Finish garnishing with freshly picked bronze fennel, chive flower, sea spray, and your favourite sea salt.

Recipe provided by Steels Gate Wines Cellar Door & Restaurant