This recipe is based on a classic dish  in Lebanese cuisine called tagen.  Tagen is a fish stew that is composed of fish with  caramelized onions bathing in a tahini and lemon sauce.

I found some frozen artichoke bottoms at the middle-eastern grocer  imported from Egypt. Artichoke bottoms are very popular  in the near-east and are usually covered with minced lamb and pine nuts.

I made  the tagen but used  scallops instead of the traditional seabass (or other mediterranean fish); and whereas the traditional tagen is served in a big platter, I used the artichoke bottoms to hold each individual scallop.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bag of artichoke bottoms or 1 can
• 1 pound of either bay or sea scallops
• 4 ounces of tahini
• 4 ounces of water
• 3 ounces of fresh lemon juice (one large lemon)
• 1 large onion
• a teaspoon or more of turmeric (optional), some black pepper and salt to taste
• olive oil as needed
• chopped parsley as a garnish

METHOD:

1. Cook the artichoke bottoms by boiling them or steaming them; if using canned ones, boil them a few minutes as well. Set aside.

1. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and fry the onion cut in rings until it turns golden-brown. Remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon and place the onion rings evenly all over the artichoke bottoms in an oven-proof plate (like a pie plate for instance).
2. Sprinkle the scallops with turmeric and salt and black pepper. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet for a couple of minutes and when hot drop the scallops and sear on both sides. Remove and set aside.

1. Make the tahini sauce: Juice the lemon; pour the tahini in a bowl, add the lemon and stir; the tahini will curdle then get thick; gradually add the water, stirring constantly until the sauce is smooth and very liquid. Pour the sauce on top of the artichoke bottoms and place in a preheated oven at 375F for about 20 minutes.
2. Place the scallops in the artichoke bottoms the last 5 minutes of baking (or less, depending on how much you cooked them previously).
3. Bake until the sauce has set or looks ready, about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the quantities used. Serve either at room temperature or warm over rice, garnished with chopped parsley.

Scallops On Artichoke Bottoms In Tahini Sauce

This is my menu for Valentine’s day celebration as well as All Through the Year Cheer contest. I got the idea for the vinaigrette from La Cuisine de Mercotte ; when I moved to France in the seventies, the most incredible food I tasted was a passion fruit sorbet. I wanted to find it in the US, to no avail. Finally, supermarkets started to carry passion fruit, in the exotic fruit section. If you buy one, get the crinkled ones and hold them to make sure they are somewhat heavy; otherwise, you will end up with one that has almost no flesh. If you have never tasted passion fruit, you should! I found some frozen passion fruit juice  at Indian groceries.

This meal can be made in a jiffy and yet it is somewhat fancy; with the passion fruit addition, it fits the Valentine theme.

INGREDIENTS: For two servings

• 8 large sea scallops
• olive oil
• 1 bunch of asparagus, green and white or only one type
• 2 or 3  passion fruits (depending on size)
• Spices: salt, pepper, sugar

If you want to make the tuiles, these can be done 2 days before and kept in a tightly closed container. You will use shredded parmesan cheese. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and heat the oven to 375F; position a hear-shaped cookie cutter (metal!) on the parchment paper and fill it with 2 tablespoons of cheese. Bake for about 5 to 8 minutes until the cheese is melted and starting to turn color. Watch it carefully because it will burn rather quickly. Remove from the oven and cool for a minute or so, then tap it gently with a knife to dislodge the tuile. Store or use that day.

METHOD:

1. Start with the vinaigrette:

Grab a serrated knife and cut the passion fruits in two. Scoop out the flesh (including the seeds) into a bowl. Using your taste as a guide, add some sugar, salt, pepper and olive oil and whip to emulsify.

1. Cook the scallops:

Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet. Dry  the scallops with a paper towel, sprinkle with seasoning and pan-fry on both sides, waiting to brown lightly one side and then flipping them to the other side, about 3 minutes per side depending on their size and thickness (they will shrink). Set aside in a warm oven.

1. Cook the asparagus:

While the asparagus are cooking, boil some water or steam the asparagus over boiling water for 5 minutes or so until tender. Remove, drain and place on a serving plate.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

On each plate, place 3 asparagus stalks of each color, joining them together at the tip in a warm embrace. Add the sizzling scallops on top in a neat row. Drizzle some passion fruit vinaigrette and let it drip, unrestrained, all over the plate. Stick a parmesan tuile in between the asparagus stalks.

Tripoli is Lebanon’s largest Northern city. I remember spending a weekend there  as a teenager with a  family  whose father was a business associate of my father’s. My first time there. I thought the city was magical.  My friend Aboud took me on long walks  through the old city. I was mesmerized ! the Citadel of St. Gilles (built by the crusader who finally broke Tripoli’s siege in 1109), the old churches, the old mosques, the hammams (Turkish baths)  I felt this was truly the Levant! Whereas Beirut felt more like a mediterranean city, Tripoli was unmistakably  Arab. I imagined living in  the time of the Ommayyad dynasty, what it must have been like. For the first time in my life, I stepped into a mosque and I was in awe. Well, that was 35 years ago, and now I remember Tripoli through their wonderful seafood dishes and amazing pastries. This dish is an American adaptation, as I have used scallops instead of a whole 5 lb grouper or sea bass. I have however tried to stick to the same spices and hoped for an equally scrumptious result. This is a very easy and fast dish to prepare (the scallops cook in minutes), and the combination of garlic, olive oil, nuts and fresh herbs is dynamite!

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb of frozen scallops

1 bunch of green onions, chopped fine

1 bunch of cilantro, washed and dried, stems discarded, leaves chopped fine

10 cloves of garlic mashed with a teaspoon of salt (or a heaping tablespoon of toom)

1/2 cup of walnuts

1/2 cup of pine nuts

1 teaspoon or more of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of more of ground coriander

1 teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb of spaghetti

METHOD:

1. Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet for 5 minutes. Drop the scallops (previously thawed, rinsed and dried), sprinkle with the coriander and cumin. Sear them a couple of minutes. Lift them up with a  spoon (without the oil) and set aside.
2. Drop the green onions and pan fry for a couple minutes, then add the mashed garlic and chopped cilantro, all the while stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the red pepper flakes and black pepper, pine nuts and walnuts.
3. Drop the scallops in that mixture, stirring until they turn completely opaque and are cooked through. Set aside.
4. Prepare the pasta by boiling 2 quarts of salted water and dropping the pasta in for 11 minutes. Drain it and add it to the scallops. Mix well, add some fresh cilantro for garnish. Sahteyn!