I come from a long line of picnickers and though we don't eat al fresco on a blanket as much these days, the weather is warming and the urge is returning.
New Zealand Chef Martin Bosley has a great summer picnic dish with scallops, cauliflower and fava beans that I wanted to share here, especially as it pairs nicely with a wine I recently tasted.
The straw-colored 2011 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc – like the chef, it's from New Zealand – has a great nose and is full of ripe citrus and has a nice freshness and a crisp finish. It will really satisfy on a warm day and will juice up a picnic with this...
Scallop Carpaccio, Cauliflower Puree and Fava Bean Pea Salad
(serves 4)
Fava Bean and Pea Salad
- 1 cup fava beans
- ½ cup fresh peas, cooked
- 1 red chili, seeded and chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
Cook the fava beans in boiling salted water until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and rinse them under cold, running water. Pop the larger beans from their skins and set all the beans to one side. In a small bowl whisk the sherry vinegar with the olive oil to make the dressing. Mix through the broad beans along with the peas and chili, gently toss together in the dressing and taste for salt and pepper.
Cauliflower Puree
- 1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a saucepan, place the cauliflower, bay leaves and enough milk to cover. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes until the cauliflower is tender. Strain the cauliflower reserving the milk but discarding the bay leaves. Put the cauliflower into a food processor and blend until smooth, adding the butter and just enough milk to make a velvety puree. Season lightly.
Scallops
- 24 scallops
- 1 tablespoon salmon caviar
- 4 sprigs dill
- Stalks of mint
Thinly slice the scallops and place in a circle in the center of the plate. Put a tablespoon of cauliflower puree in the center of the circle and top with the salad. Garnish each slice of scallop with the caviar, and garnish the salad with the dill and mint sprigs.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
