Who's Cooking in Rhode Island

Directions

Roast the beets in the skin, wrapped in foil at 350F until Tender. Cool them until they are touchable and rub the skin off with a kitchen cloth. Dice into 1/2 inch cubes and toss together with the red onion and pickling liquid of your choice. (we used aged red wine vinegar)Marinate for at least 1 1/2 hours or more.
Place a large sauce pot on the stove top and fill it 3/4 with water and a good handful of salt. This is to partially cook the vegetables (blanch). The salt is important to set the bright green color of the green vegetables, but can be reduced for low sodium diets. Bring to a boil.
While waiting for the water to boil, trim the stems off of the brussel sprouts and the fiddlehead ferns. Cut the brussel sprouts in half and reserve to the side. Trim the spring garlic and reserve. Meanwhile set up a waterbath with ice to shock the vegetables after they've been "blanched".
In small batches blanch the vegetables until bright green and tender, but not soft and immediately shock them in the ice water to stop the cooking.
In a small sauté pan cook the bacon until it is almost crisp, add the shallots and brussel sprouts and continue to cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, set aside and keep warm.
Sauté the fiddlehead ferns in butter, salt, and pepper until warm. Set aside and keep warm.
Cut the Spring garlic in half and season with salt. Sear cut side down in a sauté pan until golden brown, but not toasted, set aside and keep warm.
Slowly heat the pickled beets up until war without the pickling liquid, set aside and keep warm.
All of the above vegetables can be prepared a day ahead of time and reheated lightly prior to dinner, but are in their freshest state prepared the night of, if time permits.
Meanwhile heat a large sauté pan to medium high, add a small amount of canola oil and a nub of butter to the pan. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and place the seasoned side down in the butter blend. Allow to cook for 3-4 minutes until a beautiful golden crust starts to form. Flip the scallop and continue cooking, using a spoon to baste the butter blend over the scallop as it cooks.
To plate, use a rectangle plate, and present 4 scallops on each plate, separated, but in a straight row. add a small amount of fresh herbs to the butter and spoon lightly over the scallops. Directly above each scallop, plate a small portion of each warm vegetable. Top the scallops with fresh micro greens to garnish, and serve.