RECIPES

Erna's Elderberry House Kitchen
Executive Chef Gunnar Thompson

Seared Maine Scallops
‘Stewed’ Wild Nettles and Oxtail, Bone Marrow, Spring Garlic, Juniper

Makes 8 servings

For 30 portions—

For Braised Oxtail:
10#  Oxtail, cut in 2” pieces, thawed if frozen
salt and black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 yellow onions, large dice
2 large carrots, peeled, large dice
4 stalk celery, large dice
1 head garlic, split
¾ cup canola oil
1.5 quart  dry red wine
.5 quart ruby port
2 gallons roasted veal stock
4 bay leaves
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 bunch fresh parsley
¼ cup juniper berries
1 tbl whole black peppercorns

Prepare at least 1 day in advance.  Pre heat oven to 325 degrees.  Toss oxtail pieces in flour and season with salt and pepper.  Shake off excess flour.  Heat large sauté pan with ½ cup canola oil to medium high heat.  In batches, Sear oxtail to a golden brown color on all sides.  Set aside the oxtail.  Add remaining canola oil, and cook vegetables in batches if necessary, to a caramelized golden color. Deglaze with wines.  Bring to a boil.  Pour vegetable/wine mixture into the bottom of 2 full size deep hotel pans, add all herbs, juniper and whole pepper corns. Do not salt the liquids please.  Warm Stock to at least 150 degrees.  Lay a single layer cheesecloth over vegetables and seasonings, place oxtail into the cheesecloth.  Wrap cheesecloth over oxtail to separate the meat from the vegetables and spices.  Pour over veal stock. The liquids need to cover the meat, make sure the meat is fully submerged.  Cover pans individually with a sheet of parchment then foil. Place in oven and cook for 5 hours.  Refrigerate the pan without disturbing, do not open the foil and refrigerate overnight.  The next day lightly warm the pans uncovered in oven to melt the gelified stock, about 20 minutes at 350.  Once the stock has melted, pull the cheesecloth pouches out of the liquid.  Strain the broth through a china cap and reserve the broth. Skim to degrease.  Pull the meat from the bones, removing cartilage and fat. Please take care not to shred the meat too finely.  Place meat into a storage container and pour all of the broth over the top to store. 

Warm oxtail and remove meat from liquid,  Reduce liquid by half and skim to deglaze. 
Store meat and liquid separately.

For Spring Garlic and Sunchoke Coulis
8 stalks green garlic, sliced, green part only, well washed, about 3 cups raw slices
1 tbl olive oil
2 tbl butter
¼ cup light vegetable stock
salt

In a sauté pan, warm butter and olive oil over medium high heat, until butter foams and does not brown, add green garlic, turn down heat to medium low and sweat for 5 minutes until starting to get tender without loosing the green color.  Add vegetable stock and season with salt. Turn up heat and reduce stock until it is almost gone. Pour out onto a plate and cool in refrigerator.

1 shallot, sliced and peeled
2 tbl canola oil
 2 cups peeled, sliced sunchokes, measured after peeling and cutting
2 ½ cups light vegetable stock
½ cup cream
½ cup dry white wine
sachet of ½ bay leaf, 4 whole black peppercorns, 1 sprig fresh thyme

Heat oil in a medium sauce pot.  Add sliced shallot and a pinch salt, cook briefly, do not brown.  Add sunchoke and sweat until warmed through stirring often.  Make sure not to brown.  Deglaze with white wine and reduce for a minute, add vegetable stock, cream and sachet.  Cook over medium high heat for 25 minutes and check to make sure sunchoke is tender for a puree. If it theatens to scorch, add a bit more vegetable stock.  Once done, remove sachet. Cool at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.

To finish coulis:
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and Tabasco
cooked and cooled spring garlic

 Place sunchokes and cooking liquid and spring garlic in a high speed blender , like a vita-prep.  Blend on high until a good puree is started, drizzle in olive oil making an emulsification.  Season with salt and a couple drops Tabasco.  Should be consistency of a light mayonnaise and a pale but vibrant green.

Prep for Garnish
3 cups medium mixed mirepoix diced celery, carrot and red onion—nice and square—more carrot than the others

3 # nettles—
Blanch in batches in salted water, shock in ice water, squeeze out excess liquid.  Remove and discard any stems, reserve leaves.

Port Wine Reduction
4 cups ruby port
¾ cup sugar
2 sprigs thyme
Reduce port to glaze consistency.  Reduce to about 1 cup total. 

Potato-Bone Marrow ‘Duchess’
3# Yukon gold potatoes, whole, skin on
1 tbl whole black peppercorns
½ bunch fresh thyme
3 tbl kosher salt
2 bay leaf
1 head garlic, split in ½
Water to cover potatoes

3 # marrow bones 2” cut –soaked for 1 hour in salted ice water-to remove blood
Roast for 5 minutes at 400 degrees- push out marrow- chill in refrigerator

¾  cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2cup cream, warmed
3 egg yolks
salt and a pinch of cayenne

Put 1 cup of bone marrow and 1  cup of softened butter in the food processor and run scraping sides to ensure a smooth paste.  Set Aside and chill.
Simmer potatoes gently with peppercorns, thyme, bay, 3 tbl kosher salt, and garlic, until tender through.  Remove from water, and while potatoes are still hot peel with a butter knife.  Pass through a food mill and while puree is hot add 1 ½ C bone marrow butter, and enough hot cream to make a nice puree for piping. Finish with egg yolks. Then pass through a tamis.  Season with salt and pinch of cayenne.  Cool and Store.

Day of Event

For Nettle and Oxtail Stew
4 tbl unsalted butter
2 tbl canola oil
3 cups mirepoix
braised oxtail and braising liquid
blanched nettles
4 tbl cold butter

Melt oil and 4tbl butter in a rondeau, add mirepoix and cook to golden.  Add oxtail  and braising liquid bring to a boil and add nettles. Cook down to glaze the meat and nettles. Finish with cold butter.

60 pieces Maine U-10 scallops, side muscle removed, sliced in half through the hemisphere, select the most cylindrical scallops for the slicing

salt, cayenne pepper
2 # unsalted butter, diced
2 bunches fresh thyme
2 lemons
1 ½ cup canola oil
Large sauté pans

Heat canola oil, Sear seasoned Scallops over high heat, flip over, add butter and thyme and baste the scallops.  Remove to a pan lined with c fold towels.

To Plate-

Drizzle plate with port reduction.  Spoon sunchoke-green garlic coulis onto each plate.  Place a hollow shank bone on each plate.  Pipe on bone marrow-potato ‘duchess’ onto each bone.  Brown with a handheld torch. Fill bone with oxtail and nettle ragout. Top each bone with seared scallop slices.

Bon Appétit!

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