Monday, July 21, 2008

Red Pepper Scallops on Potato Pancakes - Leftovers in Low Lighting

This red pepper scallop dish is sort of a rarity for me. I usually don't shoot after dark, as the food looks much better when I have a combination of natural and overhead lights. It's also rare for leftovers to star in these video recipes, since I don't bother setting up all the equipment when I'm just throwing something together. But this time, for some reason I had a feeling, and I'm glad the camera was rolling.

I had a little bit of mashed potato, half a roasted red pepper (see bonus clip below), and a pound of scallops left over from a ceviche recipe I'm doing for About.com. I do have to admit I'm guessing at the ingredient amounts below. This was fast and fun - no recipes, no measuring - just intuitive cooking. The sad thing about cooking like that is I will never have the exact same dish again. Which is what made it so good. Enjoy.



Ingredients for
4 small or 2 large portion:
3/4 cup cold mashed potatoes
1 egg
2 tbsp bread crumbs
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
olive oil
1 pound scallops
cayenne pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp capers
1/2 roasted and peeled red bell pepper
whole fresh basil leaves

Watch this clip if you need a fire-roasted pepper refresher:




14 comments:

Anonymous said...

This looks so delicious and so easy to make!

Anonymous said...

Mashed potatoes are on the menu tonight, so I'll make a little more than usual and try this later in the week. It looks soooooo good!

BTW - For the very first time I watched the chef contest in Las Vegas on TV last night (a rerun?). What's up with this? Chef John you need to be on there. YOU ARE EXACTLY what they are looking for!

Chef John said...

Thanks! I think I'll organize a foodwishes petition to get me an audition.

Unknown said...

List my name on that!

Anonymous said...

You have my vote!

Anonymous said...

Incidentally, I actually live in Somerville, MA which is the 5th most densely populated city in the U.S. (right behind NYC). Needless to say, grass and gardens are at a premium here. But for Father's Day I got a window pot to grow herbs/basil! Cool that you mentioned it, Chef John. You are so right about them. It's been fannnntastic.

So, if I can grow beautiful, lush basil, gleefully use it in two recipes and then promptly kill it accidentally, so can you.

(I've since rectified my pot gardening ways, ahem...) But they really are great!

Scott - Boston

Chef John said...

Yeah, pots are the way to go for most people. Not enough to make a big batch of basil, but great for pulling off a few leaves for a tomato salad or pasta.

Anonymous said...

"(I've since rectified my pot gardening ways, ahem...) "

is there a deeper meaning there? hope so

Anonymous said...

You...are...awesome

Chef John said...

Alton?

Anonymous said...

LOL!!! knock knock who's there?

Anonymous said...

I finally made this tonight. Had to make mashed potatoes just for this! So totally wonderful, truly a restaurant quality dish!
Thanks for creating and sharing it.

Ash88 said...

Do I have to use capers for the red pepper scallops on potato pancakes?

Chef John said...

not sure what you mean. you don't have to do anything you don't like. ;-)