Our scallop main, winter salad and festive focaccia are a sure-fire route to dinner party success.
This party season, as part of our Take a Seat dinner party series, we’re providing you with themed menus so you can focus less on the planning and more on the feasting and the fun.
Attention, fish lovers – this dish is the menu for you! I’ve created an elegant main, featuring scallops, paired with celeriac puree, tarragon, and lemon zest. To add a touch of celebration, I’ve topped it off with some salmon roe. Not only does it look beautiful on your festive table, but the roe also pops delightfully in your mouth.
To serve with this main, I’ve also come up with two side dishes: a festive focaccia and a winter salad with brown butter. Seasonal, contemporary, and surprisingly easy to make.
And if you want to serve a fitting drink with this dinner party series, white wine would pair wonderfully with the scallops. But there are plenty of non-alcoholic options too, like a refreshing kombucha or a lemonade with yuzu, for example.
The Main: Celeriac puree with scallops, tarragon, lemon zest & salmon roe
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
-
1 celeriac (about 1,5 kilo), peeled and chopped
-
500 g potatoes, peeled and chopped
-
2 tbsp butter
-
100 ml heavy cream
-
Salt and pepper, to taste
-
Zest of 1 lemon
-
12 scallops, cleaned and patted dry
-
1 tbsp olive oil
-
1 tbsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped
-
3 tbsp salmon roe
Steps:
-
In a large pot, boil the celeriac and the potatoes in salted water for 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain and return the celeriac and potatoes to the pot. Add the butter and heavy cream, then mash until smooth (you can also use an electric mixer here, to make it extra smooth). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add half of the lemon zest and stir. Keep warm.
-
In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the scallops and sear them for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
-
Pour the puree onto a beautiful serving platter.
-
Divide the scallops over the puree and grate the other half of the lemon zest for decoration. Spoon the salmon roe between and garnish with fresh tarragon.
Side Dish: Winter salad with hazelnuts and brown butter
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
This salad with pumpkin, kale, and hazelnuts is wintery, earthy, savory, and irresistibly delicious. If you want to save time, you can always use pre-cut pumpkin cubes, but by cutting the pumpkin yourself, you save money, and your dish will taste fresher.
The big secret here? The brown butter! Brown butter, or beurre noisette in French, is butter that has been melted and cooked until the milk solids in the butter turn golden brown. This process gives the butter a nutty, rich flavor and a deeper, more complex taste. It’s typically used to enhance the flavour of both sweet and savory dishes, adding a toasty, slightly caramelised note. Brown butter is made by heating butter over medium heat, allowing it to bubble and foam until it turns a golden-brown color. It's important to watch it closely to avoid burning the milk solids, as this can create a bitter taste. But that's the only difficulty in the recipe, so it’s really not a big deal.
Ingredients:
-
400 g peeled pumpkin cubes
-
2 red onions, cut into wedges
-
2 tbsp mild olive oil
-
Salt and pepper, to taste
-
100 g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
-
100 g butter
-
1 full tsp mustard
-
150 g kale leaves (shredded)
-
Zest and juice of 1 tangerine
-
A pinch of coarse sea salt
Steps:
-
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Toss the pumpkin cubes and red onion wedges with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until tender and slightly caramelised.
-
In a large pan, toast the hazelnuts over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until fragrant and lightly golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
-
In the same pan, melt the butter over medium heat and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the butter turns golden brown and releases a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and let the butter cool down a bit. Mix in the mustard with a whisk.
-
In a large bowl, combine the roasted pumpkin, red onion, kale, and toasted hazelnuts. Drizzle the brown butter dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine. Stir in the zest and the juice of the tangerine. Season with coarse sea salt and toss the salad a few times.
Side Dish: Festive Focaccia with cranberries and rosemary
Cooking time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Serves: 6-8
Are you someone who rarely finds the time to bake? Let the holiday season be the one big exception. Because if there’s ever a time to do it, it’s now. This festive focaccia will be a true crowd-pleaser, earning you plenty of compliments.
That doesn’t affect the flavor, though: you'll still get a wonderfully golden-brown, crispy focaccia. And with rosemary and cranberry, you instantly give this Italian flatbread a festive Christmas twist.
Ingredients:
-
7 g (1 packet) dry yeast
-
Pinch of sugar
-
450 ml lukewarm water
-
750 g flour (+ extra for dusting)
-
2 tsp salt
-
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
-
1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
-
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, needles picked
-
115 g fresh or thawed frozen cranberries (1 cup)
Steps:
-
In a small bowl, combine the dry yeast, sugar, and lukewarm water. Stir and leave for 5-10 minutes until frothy.
-
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture and 3 tbsp of olive oil. Mix to form a dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
-
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and leave to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
-
After the first rise, knead the dough gently for a few minutes to remove excess air.
-
Transfer the dough to a large greased square baking dish (or two smaller ones) and spread it out. Flatten the dough to about 1 cm thick. Cover it again and let it rise for another 45 minutes in a warm place.
-
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Once the dough has risen and right before baking, make holes in the dough with your fingers. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, rosemary needles, and cranberries.
-
Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.
